MHA: Black Swan - Sparks Beyond The Depths (SYOC open!)
by MochiDreams
Summary: Decades before All Might was born, humans were average and quirks were only apart of the distant future. Although, the future wasn't as distant as they believed and suddenly, monsters came into existence in a broken society as the first quirk users. The fine lines between heroes and villains are blurred as the underground group known as Black Swan try to save an unforgiving society
1. Guide - Black Swan - Sparks Beyond

**My Hero Academia: ****Black Swan - ****Sparks Beyond the depths**

_**March 31st Update** \- Syoc still open for ocs! We're looking mainly for female heroes ocs as well as villains of all gender. The Deadline has been decided for hero ocs as of May 18th. villain deadline is undecided._

_..._

Decades before All Might was born, humans were just humans and quirks were only apart of the distant future. Although, the future wasn't as distant as they believed and suddenly, the monsters known as quirkusers came into existence, rearing their heads into a broken society of fear and evil.

This is the story of the first quirk users and their introduction into a shattered world relentlessly seeking acceptance and a place in society. Quirk users must linger in the shadows, keeping their true powers a secret or face being put in the category of villainous monster by quirkless humanity due to the evil that now inhabits Japan.

Evil organizations of quirk users, desperate for sanctuary or thriving for power alike bloom in stains across the country, just as innocent quirk users strive to blend into a world that doesn't want them. The fine lines between heroes and villains that are blurred by prejudice as a group of teens try to rescue the unforgiving world from destruction, from not only other quirk users but humans alike as underground heroes.

**_Black Swan_ **\- the exclusive underground organization recruiting those with quirks and providing sanctuary and order to the chaos is the only hope these heroes have to change the world.

**A/N - **_Hi all! I wanted to go for something really dark and different from most of the lighthearted fics on this site. I want to challenge myself by going down a realistic and harsh path. _

_This fic takes place YEARS before All Might is born and the first quirks are just now popping into the world so only a small percentage of humans have quirks. These quirk users are treated as monsters that infect society. There aren't any heroes, except for police, so I won't be accepting pros. Keep in mind the dark nature of this fic if you're going to submit a character._

_Thanks for giving this fic a chance and for any submissions I might receive._

_Mochi out!_

* * *

**Ocs Needs: **This fic will revolve around a group of teens as underground heroes in Black Swan, as well as villains and quirkless humanity. I'm looking for a minimum of 10-16 heroes (preferably in their teens or so), and about as many or more villain OCs. Most 'good/hero' OCs must keep their identities secret, unlike in the original My Hero Academia or face persecution by actively being sought out by quirkless law enforcement.

**Warnings: **This story is rated M for description of extremely dark themes such as death, murder, gore, language, sexual content, underaged concepts, and more.

**BANNED QUIRKS: **All for One or One for All, no stealing quirks or combination quirks (such as having more than one ability). If your quirk is element related then stick to one element. Anything too similar to one of the main characters quirks is a big NO.

**Rules! -**

**1\. I'll only accept ocs sent through PM. Please title your PM Subject as: (**_**Your character's name, hero/villain, hero/villain name, and quirk.**_**) DO NOT USE ANY OTHER FORM EXCEPT FOR THIS ONE. **

**2\. Please review as often as possible so I know you're still involved. Also, to keep up with updates, please put this story on your follows.**

**3\. This isn't first come, first serve. I don't do spot reservations, but I plan on giving everyone plenty of time to submit.**

**4\. No Mary-Sues please! Real people have flaws, so this should also apply to your OC. Think of the canon characters and what makes them realistic and apply this concept to your character. **

**5\. NO INCOMPLETE FORMS! Only send your form once you've finished. If you are worried about your quirk, personality, or idea you have for your OC then PM me, I'm happy to help, but don't just send me an incomplete form and ask me to check it. Again, this isn't first come first serve.**

**6\. You may submit more than one oc, but make sure to send them in separate PM threads.**

**7\. No gods, goddesses, characters from other realms or series. (PM me if you have questions or need me to check your idea.) **

**8\. Last but not least, when submitting a character that has previously been used or accepted to another story, you must ask me first. Try to stay away from using the same OC. I will ask you to change your form up, but honestly I prefer OCs who haven't been used yet. **

**Name -** (Last, First. Japanese names only please!)

**Gender -**(feel free to include pronouns here if you want)

**Nickname(s) -** (Optional! Anything they're called besides their name.)

**Hero Name/Alias -**

**Age** -

**Sexuality** -

**Appearance** (Eye shape and color, head shape, facial features, hairstyle and color, height and weight, body shape, skin color, markings, piercings, scars, etc. Anything important to their appearance, include it here! Remember that unless their quirk alters their height please have realistic measurements for a Japanese student.) -

**Character picture** \- (OPTIONAL! Anime/art links only!)

**Clothing/Fashion and accessories** (what do they like to wear outside of their costume. You don't have to include a single outfit, you can list out different clothing articles and styles if you want.) -

**Workout/exercise attire** -

**Hero costume** \- (include what it looks like and any gadgets or special additions that goes along with it.)

**Personality **(Minimum of 300 words! I would prefer more than that honestly, but that will be the minimum. I WANT DETAILS. Who is your character? What are their personality traits? What makes them unique? What are their mannerisms? How do they react in certain situations? Goals? Mindset? Think about what separates them from other characters. You can just write a paragraph of their personality as a whole or actually list personality traits and explain and expand on them. It's entirely up to you what format you go for. This is one of the most important sections of the form so make sure to focus your time on this. And NO ONE IS PERFECT. INCLUDE NEGATIVE TRAITS AS WELL AS POSITIVE/NEUTRAL! Even Izuku has negative points that make him a realistic person.) -

**Personal Strengths** -

**Personal Weaknesses** -

**Likes **\- (Do they have things they enjoy outside of hero work? Foods? Hobbies? Favorite color? Music taste? Past-times? Etc, anything goes here)

**Dislikes** \- (What do they hate? This can be anything.)

**Habits** \- (Include mannerisms here such as maybe a particular speaking style like very informal, nervous ticks, etc.)

**Fears** \- (What is your OC most afraid of? This doesn't just have to be emotional things but can also be physical, psychological, etc. Maybe phobias? Certain Villains?)

**Residence/Housing** -

**Family **(brief description of each member and their relationship with your oc) -

**History **\- (I need a minimum of a paragraph here. Don't just give me a sentence saying your OC had a boring past. It doesn't matter whether it was angsty, happy, or uneventful for the most part, everyone has a past so please include that here. Include their childhood, moment they developed their quirk, and anything important that affected your OC. Anything like that can go here.)

**Friends** \- (What kind of people do you get along with?)

**Enemies** \- (What kind of people do you hate besides villains?)

OPTIONAL * **Love Interest/Significant other** (Would they want a love interest? Is there certain types of people they're attracted to? Feel free to Include interactions/first meeting, any scenes you'd like to happen, and etc.) -

OPTIONAL * **Voice actor** -

**Quirk Name and Description** \- (What is your quirk called and describe it to me. What can you do? How does it affect you? How does it work?)

**Quirk Strengths **-

**Quirk Weaknesses** \- (Maybe they have a time limit? Can't use it in a certain area or under certain conditions? It's weak to another quirk? ETC)

**Quirk moves** \- (Do you have any special moves you can do with your quirk? Tell me their ultimate move and typical moves)

**Fighting Style** \- (Are they close, medium or long range? Etc)

**Quirk stats!** (This is your OC's evaluation of not only their quirk but their overall physical and mental performance. Give me realistic stats here. You can improve overtime so don't just start out super strong.) I need stats out of ten, so 10/10 being the best you can be and 1/10 being the worst.

**Physical power** -

**Quirk power** -

**Speed** -

**Technique** -

**Intelligence** -

**Cooperation** -

**Leadership skills** -

**Stealth** -

**Stamina** -

**Why did they decide to become an underground hero? **-

**Does anyone else know of your quirk?** -

**How do you hide your identity as a quirk user?** -

**What do you think of quirks? **(What do you think of having one?) -

**How do you view quirkless humans?** -

**What are your goals?** -

**Would they ever switch sides? **-

**Quotes **-

**Scenes and ideas **-

**Extra **-

* * *

**Villain Form**

**Name -** (Last, First. Japanese names only please!)

**Gender -**(feel free to include pronouns here if you want)

**Nickname(s) -** (Optional! Anything they're called besides their name.)

**Villain Name/Alias -**

**Age** -

**Sexuality** -

**Appearance** (Eye shape and color, head shape, facial features, hairstyle and color, height and weight, body shape, skin color, markings, piercings, scars, etc. Anything important to their appearance, include it here! Remember that unless their quirk alters their height please have realistic measurements for a Japanese student.) -

**Character picture** \- (OPTIONAL! Anime/art links only!)

**Clothing/Fashion and accessories** (what do they like to wear outside of their costume. You don't have to include a single outfit, you can list out different clothing articles and styles if you want.) -

**Workout/exercise attire** -

**Villain costume** \- (include what it looks like and any gadgets or special additions that goes along with it.)

**Personality **(Minimum of 300 words! I would prefer more than that honestly, but that will be the minimum. I WANT DETAILS. Who is your character? What are their personality traits? What makes them unique? What are their mannerisms? How do they react in certain situations? Goals? Mindset? Think about what separates them from other characters. You can just write a paragraph of their personality as a whole or actually list personality traits and explain and expand on them. It's entirely up to you what format you go for. This is one of the most important sections of the form so make sure to focus your time on this.) -

**Personal Strengths** -

**Personal Weaknesses** -

**Likes **\- (Do they have things they enjoy outside of villain work? Foods? Hobbies? Favorite color? Music taste? Past-times? Etc, anything goes here)

**Dislikes** \- (What do they hate? This can be anything.)

**Habits** \- (Include mannerisms here such as maybe a particular speaking style like very informal, nervous ticks, etc.)

**Fears** \- (What is your OC most afraid of? This doesn't just have to be emotional things but can also be physical, psychological, etc. Maybe phobias? Certain people?)

**Residence/Housing** -

**Family **(brief description of each member and their relationship with your oc) -

**History **\- (I need a minimum of a paragraph here. Don't just give me a sentence saying your OC had a boring past. It doesn't matter whether it was angsty, happy, or uneventful for the most part, everyone has a past so please include that here. Include their childhood, moment they developed their quirk, and anything important that affected your OC. Anything like that can go here.)

**Friends** \- (What kind of people do you get along with?)

**Enemies** \- (What kind of people do you hates?)

OPTIONAL * **Love Interest/Significant other** (Would they want a love interest? Is there certain types of people they're attracted to? Feel free to Include interactions/first meeting, any scenes you'd like to happen, and etc.) -

OPTIONAL * **Voice actor** -

**Quirk Name and Description** \- (What is your quirk called and describe it to me. What can you do? How does it affect you? How does it work?)

**Quirk Strengths **-

**Quirk Weaknesses** \- (Maybe they have a time limit? Can't use it in a certain area or under certain conditions? It's weak to another quirk? ETC)

**Quirk moves** \- (Do you have any special moves you can do with your quirk? Tell me their ultimate move and typical moves)

**Fighting Style** \- (Are they close, medium or long range? Etc)

**Quirk stats!** (This is your OC's evaluation of not only their quirk but their overall physical and mental performance. Give me realistic stats here. You can improve overtime so don't just start out super strong.) I need stats out of ten, so 10/10 being the best you can be and 1/10 being the worst.

**Physical power** -

**Quirk power** -

**Speed** -

**Technique** -

**Intelligence** -

**Cooperation** -

**Leadership skills** -

**Stealth** -

**Stamina** -

**Why did they decide to become a villain? **-

**Does anyone else know of your quirk?** -

**Do you hide your identity as a quirk user? Or are you open about it?** -

**What do you think of quirks? **(What do you think of having one?) -

**How do you view quirkless humans?** -

**What are your goals?** -

**Are you a villain who works with others or alone? **-

**Quotes **-

**Scenes and ideas **-

**Extra **-


	2. Accepted OCs - Deadline May 18th

I want to thank everyone who has shown interest in this story so far. I'm so elated by the follows! Thank you all! You can find the form on my profile. Again, make sure to read the warnings before submitting! This will be a dark story. _Submissions are open._

**_To answer a few questions:_ **Your OC can be just about any age. I prefer around teen years for 'heroes' but I will make a few exceptions. Villains can be any age. You do not have to show signs of possessing a quirk as a baby, it can show up at any point in life. Please remember that in this world, the fewer people that know about your quirk the better, considering society views quirk users as monsters. Although, whether your OC is open about their abilities is up to you.

_**March 31st Update** \- Syoc still open for ocs! We're looking mainly for female heroes ocs as well as villains of all gender. The Deadline has been decided for hero ocs as of May 18th. villain deadline is undecided._

Mochi out ;)

* * *

**Accepted Characters:**

_(Last name, First name - quirk - voice actor - creator)_

Nemuro Haru - Drain Touch - Kensho Ono - created by: **HotSoup2017**

Rekka Chika - Mosquito - N/A voice actor - created by: **JackHammerMan**

Masayoshi Teruko - Shock barrier - Kana Ueda - created by: **Starblitz1312  
**

Ieyasu Hajime - Shatter - Hiroshi Kamiya - created by: **justreadtoread**

Shimizu Chinami - Manta Barb - Sora Amamiya - created by: **MochiDreams**

Shuzenji Katai - Self Recovery - N/A voice actor - created by: **Luke5921**

Gyuukei Daisuke - Unseen Threat - Satomi Satō - created by: **Roggi**

Yugana Iryoku - No Defense - Rie Takahashi - created by: **seasel**

Iwa Kohaku - Amber - Natsuki Hanae - created by: **Firealis**

Neruyoko Yume - Projection Ghost - Konomi Kohara - created by: **ZodiacPanic**

Adachi Dai - Masquerade - N/A voice actor - created by: **WhyDidIDecideToMakeThis**

Enjiru Ran - Mime - N/A voice actor - created by: **LifeisBeautiful17**

Kasumi Aihara - Contortion - Miyuki Sawashiro - created by: **LinisSleepy**

Fukami Kyo - Hold that Thought - Yūto Uemura - created by: **CandidSniper**

**Villains:**

Nanka Giju** -** created by: **Thicc Boah**

Yamasaki Rii - created by: **heartattak**

Ono Terao - created by: **Luke5921**

Urata Sho - created by: **Luke5921**

Ryu Shinsei - created by: **OrdinalDragoon**

Himura Yoshihiro - created by: **And then the sky**

Kirigaya Ikki - created by: **rokebuto**


	3. Introduction - So Far Away

**Warnings: **This story is rated M for description of extremely dark themes such as death, murder, gore, language, sexual content, underaged concepts, and more. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. *THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS VIOLENCE, ALLUDING TO NON-CON/HARRASSMENT, gore, retching, and more. This may be triggering, so please skip if it's not for you.

_Thank you for all of the reviews and follows/favorites! _

**My Hero Academia: ****Black Swan - ****Sparks Beyond The Depths**

**Introduction**

**So Far Away**

**(Five Years Ago)**

The afternoon sun was no longer stark in the sky, high above the city, a bright, blinding beacon that beamed down onto her scalp, but instead now replaced by a sudden cloudburst that, quite ironically fit her mood. Like the bursting of the clouds above, Chinami's heart bled out that day, her emotions spilling onto the dirty street for all the world to see. It was something she would never forget, for it was burned into her memory for the rest of her measly existence.

Rain sprinkled down against the pavement and coated her small body in a freezing blanket of wetness, but nothing was as cold as the spike that plunged through her heart. Hidden under the thickness of dark clouds and puddles of rain, the worst day of her life played out.

She felt so small, so tiny in the middle of the backstreet, surrounded by black towering privacy fences on either side of the narrow road separating her from the neighborhoods and store strips. They sprouted from the pavement like towers compared to her short height, making the twelve-year-old feel even smaller and isolated in the middle of such a populated city, and wasn't that just _ironic_? For such a seemingly bustling, crowded city that any other day she would've had to push through the thicket of civilians, in their time of need, no one was to be found. They took this route all the time and never did it lack people, but just as her lighter mood had vanished, so did any sign of life besides her sister and their tormentor.

It was almost as if looking through someone else's eyes, or like a strangely lucid dream - nightmare - pulsing through her bones in a fuzzy cloud of surrealness, so strange it can't be true. Yet it is. The typical routine of walking with her older sister, Masako, and picking their brother up after school is quickly forgotten when chaos hits like a storm, seemingly coming from nowhere.

Just blocks from their younger brother's elementary school, Chinami and her sister were viciously drenched in a massive wave of water, so big that it immediately filled her lungs and consumed her sight to the dark depths of a flood. Shit, the preteen struggled to take in a breath as water smacked her in the face, shooting up her nose in a rush causing an intense stinging sensation in her poor nostrils, and the girl flinched. She had to stay afloat, to push the waves away before something terrible happened, way more than water up her nose. Chinami was on high alert as anxiety coursed through her veins, and short arms and legs frantically pushed against the flow of the tide.

In between her struggle, a thought hit her like a ton of bricks, and for a second, the girl's body stilled, going limp in the water. A winter storm seemed to have somehow blossomed in her chest, freezing her heart. '_I'm going to drown. I'm drowning… There isn't any hope. I'm going to die here.'_ Ran through Chinami's mind, and it was hard not to believe as time slowly dragged on, seconds seem like hours as she struggled not to take-in any more water. The need for oxygen was strong, lungs screaming in her chest for release, but she couldn't do a single thing to gain relief.

Chinami quickly shut her eyes, the stinging pain of liquid against her orbs disappearing along with the world around her with the action. It was almost easy, like this, to forget she wasn't the only person in the world. That, not only was she here, but her sister was beside her, not even a hair's length away. However, the preteen might as well have been alone for the cold, dark depths called out to her, gripping her body in a vice, and the girl wanted to scream.

Yet suddenly, all at once, the wave was gone.

The girls crashed to the ground like ragdolls, weightless and forgotten, but the force knocked a strangled yelp from Chinami when her back collided with the concrete. FUCK. The girl let out a groan, and her whole rib cage felt like it was ready to explode. For some reason, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't manage to catch her breath, instead panting out viciously in the air, and her lungs and nose still stung from the aftereffects of the water.

'_What the hell was that?'_ The girl silently mused, forcing herself to cautiously turn over onto her side, black twintails cascading wetly down the side of her body. Pain shot up into her lungs, and Chinami stilled, squeezing her eyes shut for mere seconds as she tried to get ahold of herself. Nothing made sense. It was impossible for feet of deep water to suddenly fill up the narrow backroad, turning into a small lake, and her mind spun with disbelief.

_How was this possible? What was going on?_

"Chi-chan, are you okay?" Masako's ragged voice called out from somewhere close to her own position, and instant relief washed over her. The older girl sounded as waterlogged as she felt, but at least she was alive. Oh, thank goodness, Chinami sighed in relief before giving the other girl a pained groan in response.

"I'll take that as a maybe," Masako chuckled before slowly sitting up, and Chinami glanced over out of the corner of her eyes to see the extremely wet, dark-haired teen. Pale hands rose up to brush the matted blunt bob out of her face, using one of her flower clips to pin some of it back before she slowly turned to her younger sister. Just as she raised a hand to place against the other's flushed cheeks, something caught their attention.

An almost solid cube of water followed the instruction of its creator, similar to molding clay, sloshing, and swirling through the air until the water hovered over the pavement below.

'_Wow, what in the world?'_ A gasp fell from Chinami's small pink lips, just as Masako moved, yanking the younger's petite body up by a shoulder, and Chinami felt herself being pressed to her side as warmth seeped into her aching form. The girls didn't have time to be awed by the construction and instead were surrounded in it in seconds as if being dunked into a glass of water, they were sinking again in the dark liquid.

Pale blue eyes burst open to full, frantic panic as darkness flooded her senses. _Was I...floating? _Weightless and as airy and light as a feather. She couldn't wrap her mind around the sudden change. _What's happening?_ Chinami thought in confusion, struggling to make sense of everything as her youthful brain protested what she knew as reality and fiction. _Impossible. This is impossible. No way this could be happening, not in a million years -_

The firm grip of dread wrapped its black tendrils around the hammering heart of a twelve-year-old Chinami. A broken scream ripped from her throat, sounding like wordless bubbles when water suddenly rushed into her mouth, and she choked. Chinami struggled to twist her body around in the water. Pure panic is all she feels, mixed in with desperation and absolute horror.

_Water. I'm in water in the middle of the city._

Her long pigtails float around her in the water like onyx tentacles wavering in the depths, short bangs barely hovering out in front of her, and she can feel her skirt fluttering against her thighs as she frantically kicks her legs against the tide.

_I have to get to the top. I have to get air before I...-_

It was a nightmare, a long way away from the ocean, yet it was almost like it was brought to them as suddenly the two were drenched with no way out. She'd reached out and grasped her sister's thin wrist, just managing to keep the two of them together. It had only lasted a few seconds, quickly vanishing as soon as it appeared, reminding Chinami of a balloon popping and the air fizzling out. A chubby man lifted his calloused hand and with a strange short motion, pulled the water out of the cube form until it sloshed out wetly on the pavement. Like a dam breaking, the two girls were set free of their watery prison, and they plummeted to the concrete, spluttering and choking but managing to still be alive and well somehow.

The sky chose that moment to break open in a thunderstorm. Although, the three below barely even noticed the rain now sprinkling from above as the storm of emotions lay at the forefront of their minds. The air swelled slowly with thick tension, so prevalent Chinami was sure it could be cut with only the sharpest blade.

Everything was numb, except for the cold liquid of distress that shot rapidly through her veins, and she's stuck staring, like an idiot before her at that soft, reassuring smile that burns into her memory forever like a scar as something squeezes in her chest.

Masako stands in front of her, between the figure of the man as if her body was a fleshy shield, back turned to him to block the harasser out, and when their eyes meet, it was as if the ball of anxiety lumped in her throat slowly lifts, at least for a second. God, it always had that effect on her, this calming comfort that reminded her of their parents. Soft purple eyes gleam back at her, so gentle and warm that it takes her back, and she's gasping for air due to the burning of emotion swelling her lungs.

There is screaming, mixed sounds of pained horror echoing through the crowded city as people sprint in any which way, scurrying like ants to get away. But the sounds, as terrifying as they were felt lightyears away. If Chinami wasn't so gripped by fear, she would've found it laughable because she can't even find the heart to blame them.

_What would I do, huh? Fault them for their fear? No, not when I feel the same way. _The dark-haired girl grimaced, she wants to do the same, to get the hell out of there, she knows that her young, middle school body can't do anything to help except for running away. The urge is so strong, so prevalent, and she _wants to so bad, _but she's frozen, clutching for dear life to the straps of her bag until the rough material seems to mesh into her skin, knuckles turning white, and she doesn't register the pain against her palms.

No, there isn't time for pain when she's feeling herself breaking right in front of her eyes.

Blinking to herself, the girl's bleary gaze lands on her sister, whom she honestly had forgotten, with all of the panic, that she was here as well.

_Masako-Onee-chan..._The older girl stands tall at her feet, and Chinami watches as she drops her bag to the ground, and she barely registers the soft thump as her books collide against the damp concrete through the hammering of her heart. Reality slams into her like a truck, and she realized with a gasp that her pale hands were shaking, and the way she gripped her bag caused her knuckles to turn white. Chinami is stuck sprawled out on the wet ground, feeling the icy drops of rain pelted her small body, sliding down the exposed skin of her legs, but she doesn't care. She didn't give a single shit about the chills running up and down her spine, or how the little voice in her head reminds her that she'll most likely catch a cold - it just didn't matter. None of it matters except for Masako.

'_What is she doing? Is she out of her mind?' _Chinami thinks with the widening of her eyes in absolute exasperation. God, she has to be insane! She doesn't want to believe it, but she knows exactly what's happening. Chinami's gaze became a blur of haziness as she gazed up at Masako's frown and the determination burning in those bright eyes, such a combination that Chinami wants to cry. She knows exactly what her sister is doing before she stepped between them, shielding her from the looming figure in the rain.

_No, please stop. Don't do it, Masako-onee. _Chinami breaths through the distress, and suddenly it becomes harder to see straight, and she wants to reprimand herself for being so weak. Just a small little babe in the woods, her thin legs wobbling and small shoulders trembling against the rain while Masako stands unwavering. Her _protector. _

The water flattens Masako's dark locks to her head, and a high school uniform clung to her tall, mature, and pale body. She was the epitome of Japanese beauty, paired with a gentle soul. She was so beautiful, and strong, with her angular and sharp features, long legs, and flawless skin. Her hair cropped and as straight as a pen, inky against her pale model-like body. But she was fragile, and slim, next to no muscles, and she looked so wrong standing there in the rain in such a possessive, attentive position.

There was a resigned ferocity that surrounded Masako, an aura Chinami had never felt before, and she gulped, taken aback by her sister's actions. _Why, Masako? Why are you doing this? _Chinami squeezed the damp fabric of her navy skirt in her fists.

They're alone on the street, save for the man who was the cause of this nightmare.

She had heard about those people...The ones with the abilities as they had called it, on the news. Rumors, most likely, just stupidly ridiculous stories made up by some deranged person or even a group of kids trying to scare people. But all of those things, people, the thought of them were so far away from her, like some forgotten thought at the back of her mind that flew away in the wind. They can't touch me, so they weren't real. That was her logic, what she told herself. Chinami knew of the naivety of that idea, but it was something she didn't want to face.

But one is here, standing in front of her as plain as day — one of those _**monsters.**_

Small thuds resound around the street as the man moved, heavy brown boots thundering under the middle-aged man's weight, and Chinami's heart shudders in fear. Rain falls over his chubby frame, and his white button-up is completely soaked through, giving the two girls a view of his white tank underneath that was not flattering against the swell of his stomach.

The man moved like a crazy person, running his hands through his mop of wet, dark hair before grabbing thick handfuls and _yanking, _rubbing the rain into the knots like he's relishing in the feeling and this only brings even more discomfort to the two girls. And his laugh...The sound that wracked his body was terrifying beyond measure, knotting Chinami's stomach and thundering in her ears. That smile plastered to his face, sent shivers down her spine.

_Crazy… He's crazy.._

He laughed loudly, boisterously deep from his belly that his whole form shook with mirth, and Chinami saw her sister's teeth clench. Immediately, the knot of dread in her stomach seemed to twist and turn into a bigger lodging, and she felt the strong urge to run away, sprint, get outta here as fast as her short legs could carry her. This feeling was so unexplainable and different than anything else she had ever experienced. But something deep within her core told her they needed to leave _now, _and she believed it.

"Onee-" Chinami cried out, her voice wavering under the heavy sounds of rain as she tries to yank herself to her feet, but she's too afraid to get up. Her legs won't listen to her, as if they have a mind of their own, refusing to respond to brain signals and instead lay helpless under her. She wanted to wrap her arms around Masako and pull her to safety, have the older girl listen to her, and flee, but she can't get the words out. She can't make Masako _understand._

"Shhh, it's okay, Chi-chan," Masako shushes softly, in that familiar almost motherly way that she talks to Genkei with when he falls down and scrapes his knee, or when he doesn't want to eat his vegetables. Even in the midst of this catastrophe, Masako is still trying to reassure her, to play the role of big sister. Chinami wants to cling to her, to have her confidence seep into her own heart so she can be strong like her. But she can't, she's not strong. Not like Masako.

"What are you doing? We have to pick up Genkei from school. Let's get out of here!" She manages to somehow choke out, just barely loud enough against the pounding footsteps against the pavement and chorus of frantic yelling. The older girl stopped mid-step at the sound of her younger sister's voice, and Chinami burns holes into the back of her blazer, silently pleading for her to _listen, stop being stubborn and listen to me. _

The pause between them is too long and sets the younger girl on edge because she knows what Masako is thinking, and she _hates it._ Hates it so much that she can't do anything to stop her no matter how badly she's begging to and her heart quakes.

_Please, Masako, please listen..._

"I know, just...Run, okay?" Masako calls sweetly back over her shoulder, and she can't move.

_No. No, don't do it. Just come with me, please...Why are you like this? _

Bleary eyes stare after the older girl, and she finds her hand lifting in the air as if to tug the girl back to her, but her school blazer brushes by her fingers, and it's too late. Like the tide, she's slipping away, slipping far away from her fingers and out into the unknown.

The same Masako is sprinting away, and the voices in her mind are screaming at her to run, to do something, move, yell, jump up and down and holler until her lungs give out but she _can't_ -

Chinami's knees threaten to give out just as a helpless whimper escaped her lips, and she grimaces in hatred and disgust at herself, '_stupid. You're so stupid. Move, go. Stop being worthless and MOVE!' _

"Oneechan -" She starts to protest, the words falling from her lips but instantly dying as the other waves over her shoulder, bob of raven hair swishing around her face and skirt fluttering against her long legs with exertion. And she knows, she feels the stinging behind her eyes and the clenching of her chest that tells her who she can't save.

But her sister is hellbent on buying her time. She knows it deep within her heart, as she grits her teeth with desperation, a small hiss leaving her lips as the twelve-year-old sprawled helplessly on the ground, too shocked to move.

_Masako. Why? Why do you have to do this? Please, let's just leave together - __**LISTEN TO ME**__._

"MASAKO!" Chinami rips out from deep within her chest, filled with so much anguish and broken emotion that she's even taken aback for a split second but pushes forward. The scream resounded around her, bouncing off the buildings as she stumbles to her feet, tripping over herself to get upright, sobs threatening to spill out along with the stinging in her eyes but fuck it. She is _desperate_.

She doesn't care about their bags lying abandoned on the ground, wet books strewn about the concrete, and their belongings littering the area. She doesn't care that her homework is soaking wet, the ink bleeding against paper, and her favorite pin is crushed under rubble. None of that matters. All that matters is her sister. Her sister, who's in danger's way. Desperation fills her to the brim, and she's willing to do anything to get her to listen.

_What do I do? What DO I DO!?_

Panic was settling high in her chest, and nausea had her stomach rumbling and twisting into uncomfortable knots and damn, she was afraid. So fucking _**scared**_. Fear and disbelieve, causing her lungs to burn as she struggled to catch her breath. The preteen had no clue what to do. She's too young, too inexperienced and confused. Or at least, that's what the voice in her head hisses on repeat, a broken record reminding her of the cold hard facts. But the stinging in her heart clutch so tightly that Chinami is half-afraid she's going to die of a heart attack in seconds, but she has to do something. No matter what the facts may be, her heart says otherwise.

"You two have your whole lives ahead of you! You can do anything, the world is at your fingertips, but here I am, a middle-aged slob without a wife, family, friends… I have no future, and you know what?" The man gave a pause as he approached the girls, getting closer and closer. Such a short length away that Chinami can make out every wrinkle on his face, and the dark look in his narrow brown eyes that flashes dangerously and again, she's afraid.

"Now, on top of everything, I'm one of those freaks!" He let out a bitter laugh, voice as deep and cold as the ocean. The crow's feet next to his eyes becoming more prominent as his brown orbs were filling up with tears. "As if my life wasn't hell enough, I developed this power...This connection to water. Why? I don't know. Maybe fate just hates me… I've wondered this constantly."

Dammit. The girl's knees wobbled, threatening to give out under the weight of her fear and anxiety. Chinami couldn't even think straight as another scream deafens her and her eyes widened when her sister suddenly drops to the ground to her knees. She had knelt down against the rough pavement, barely registering the harsh scraping against her knobby knees where her school stockings didn't cover. The sound of her older sister is enough to churn the contents of her stomach, and she can't find the absolute dread that rises in the back of her throat like bile.

Fuck. Small hands fly up to her mouth just in time to catch the terrifying noise that threatens to spill, eyes widening in shock.

The small sliver of strength Chinami had, just a feeble strand, pathetically withered away, leaving her as her thoughts raced. She couldn't move, couldn't even take in a breath as her mentality slowly flew out the window when she finally realized what was truly happening.

The lovely form of her sister, on her hands and knees in front of the ability user. Her pretty dark bob is a mess, splaying around her mature face, lavender eyes downcast so Chinami can't see the weakness darkening her expression. A bubble of water condensed around her left hand, surrounding the appendage like a fishbowl, and Chinami can't hold in the sob of horror at the sight.

"AAAAAAAAHHH!" Masako let out an unpleasant scream filled with pain. The sound was so inhuman that for a second, Chinami wasn't sure if it even came from her. Her older sister's form bent and withered, spine arching dangerously in the air as she threw up her enclosed hand in pain. She was writhing on the ground as she was trying to catch her breath.

Chinami realized with a paralyzing ripple of dread that he was trying to break Masako's hand under pressure.

_Onee,_ another pathetic whimper, was all she could make as she watched her sister unfold at her feet, and she hated herself. Chinami hated every part of her being, wanted to rip her own heart from her chest, and bestow it to the monster in front of them if he could just leave her sister alone. But she couldn't.

_Pathetic,_ the raven-haired preteen breathed thickly as another sob left her lips_. I am so pathetic._ The thought swirled her mind, bitter and harsh against the reality of her fate, like a slap in the face and she shook, she could feel her small body wavering in the heavy rain like a delicate little leaf threatening to wither under the onslaught.

She was breaking, slowly, second by second her heart was bleeding out at the sounds of her sister - sickening crunching under the water pressure, like dirt rubbing against gravel, echoed around the space and Chinami's stomach lurched.

"MASAKO!"

Masako didn't reply, didn't even seem to acknowledge the younger as she tried to slow her labored breathing. Chinami couldn't help staring, almost as if she was in a trance and couldn't look away for even a second as the blob of clear liquid got smaller and smaller while tightening around her hand. The crunching sound of bone grinding against bone finally, to her horror, completely snapped in two, and Masako screamed unlike anything before.

"Now little girl, leave onee-san to it, okay? You really don't want to experience the same pain, right? So listen to your elder and shut the hell up."

As if time had slowed down to an aching crawl, Chinami watched the hovering blob of liquid slowly rise up the pale skin of her sister's thin arm, until it reached her shoulders.

"Please, please no- Please don't…Spare me, please have mercy," Thick watery words flew from her sister's mouth, broken sobs begging before another loud SNAP echoed through the air, Chinami flinched so hard at the sound, and Masako fell gracelessly onto the cold, wet ground.

Bleary pale eyes were unseeing, filled to the brim with tears so thick as Chinami cried uncontrollably. Her entire body wracked mercilessly with devastation, and petite, pale hands flew up to clutch at the wet blazer, grabbing the material over where her heart was beating rapidly in hopes that it wouldn't surge through her ribcage. Pain and sorrow flooded her senses, and she tilted her head back to cry openly, pigtails dripping at the sides of her head and short bangs plastered to her forehead.

_Why? Why did this happen to her? Why out of everyone was Masako being targeted?_ The raven-haired girl wondered silently to herself, eyes locking unseeingly onto the panting body below her. Masako… She was so beautiful, so kind, so lovely. Sure they didn't get along all the time, but they were siblings. She was her older sister, and Chinami loved her dearly. So seeing the broken figure crumpled to the ground, reminded her of a doll. A doll that, used by a careless owner, had her shoulder dislocated, and her hand broken back so far that her fingers dangled helplessly from the swollen bruised skin. Her beautiful face puffy with tears, and the rain messed up her stock of dark hair.

Masako was crumpled. Broken. Nearly lifeless, and it wasn't fair. And all she could do was _watch._

The older girl's body contorted backward until she landed on her back against the ground, rolling around helplessly, loud cries engulfing her whole body in shaking wracks of sheer pain. Masako cried, harder than any time Chinami had seen her older sister cry in their lives, rolling around aimlessly on the wet ground. The water surrounded her arm, continuing to put more and more pressure on her, and every time she tried to grab it, it proved useless. It was as if the liquid was as solid as a brick, disabling her from getting through it.

Chinami's head spun, disoriented with emotion as the older man walked across the pavement and moved closer towards them. '_Focus, you have to focus. Get it together, breathe, you have to help Masako_.' The small voice in her head yelled in a vicious screech, and Chinami clenched her teeth together, feeling more hot, wet tears sliding down her cheeks against her will, and blurring his chubby figure. She had to figure out a way to help Masako.

The man ran a hand through his already messy hair, and another sickening laugh bubbled its way from his throat. Panic shot through her veins at once, like a bolt of lightning striking her miles away, and she heard it, heard the footsteps and the giggles, rain pelting around her like a dark blanket. Everything was intensified like someone had turned on a high-frequency radio, for she could hear everything from under her heavy breathing and frantic heart rate.

_He's coming closer._

A strange feeling pitted low in her stomach, something unnatural and unexplainable. But at the same time, akin to a natural instinct, animalistic. Chinami exhaled, that could be the only thing she knew of that could serve as an answer for it was a weird sixth sense. She couldn't wrap her mind around what it was, but she just knew that this was it. Despite all of the horrible things they had endured, this would be the worst, for the churning in her guts told her so.

Finally, he stopped in front of Masako's form, and Chinami was frozen to her spot, unable to move a single hair length. It was like someone had frozen her feet to the ground because even if she wanted to, there was no way she could move. Her legs screamed in protest, hot white panic keeping her from doing anything besides standing there, and she wanted to throw up when the man slowly bent down.

His sizeable beefy hand lifted in the air, and with a halfhearted wave, the water around Masako's arm suddenly dispersed against the ground, leaving her free of restraint. But, the moment was short-lived when he bent at the waist to peer over the panting teenage girl, Masako's purple eyes not meeting his, even as he lifted out a hand and grasped her small chin between his fat thumb and pointer finger, yanking her forward to eye level.

"Get...away.." Masako breathed out in protest, voice so soft and overexerted, sounding as if it was even painful for her to be alive. It almost drowned out under the intensity of the rain that pelted down even harder than before. Her slight chest rose and fell rapidly as she used her good arm to hold her other bicep in a death grip.

It took Chinami a few seconds to process under the intense pounding of her head the fact that the man was speaking in a low tone. He caressed the soft skin of her sister's slim face, eyeing over the sharp plains of her features, her sharp nose, and equally sharp eyes under dark lashes. Wetness trailed down her rosy cheese in thick streams, clumping onto her eyelashes and clouding her eyes. Chinami watched as her sister's bow-shaped lower lip wobbled dangerously, pink lipstick smeared like a messy painting.

"My, you really are pretty. What are you, like fifteen, sixteen? Fuck, what a gorgeous little girl…" The water user murmured, trailing off when his deep voice broke at the end. Chinami felt it rising from her stomach, up to her chest, and she couldn't help it… The pigtailed girl bowed her head and retched loud and hard, the contents of her stomach burning the back of her throat and spilling onto the sidewalk below her. The man yelled out in disgust, suddenly shooting away from Masako's body and stumbling backward, but fuck him, she didn't care.

"Run, Chinami. Please listen to me and run!" Masako hollered over the man's rambling, but Chinami could barely register her voice over the pain clouding her mind.

_Calm down, please calm down,_ she cried to herself, thick sobs wrenching from her into the afternoon air, and she clutched helplessly to her aching sides to no avail for the burning behind her eyes never let up, nor the horrible squeezing inside of her chest. Her stomach heaved dangerously again, painful as hell shooting through her limbs, and Chinami quickly wrapped her arms around her stomach, squeezing her eyes shut.

"What a sick little bitch! Disgusting. That is so fucking nasty. Keep that shit to yourself, little girl. How dare you do that in front of me?!" He screamed out in absolute horror, words bouncing off the high privacy fence behind them.

'_No, no, no, no, stop. Will it away. Come on. You have to help Masako. Help her._' God, she wanted to help her so damn badly, wanted to do something, but she was so afraid...so helpless and small and young and… _Shit_, Chinami's legs wobbled just as her sister's lips were and gave out beneath her. She fell to the ground but had enough sense to hold her hands out in front of her to catch herself before she smacked face-first into the concrete. The raw pain in her hands didn't register over the pain in her heart as she gasped for air - for something, anything to keep her holding on, as her gaze burnt holes into the pavement underneath her palms.

"Chinami, please! Get out of here right now. Go to Genkei's school and -"

_Someone, anyone. Please just help. Where are they? Where are the police? Is anyone here? _Chinami thought as she stared down at her hands, subconsciously watching the ripples of water drops falling to the ground. For whatever reason, she couldn't find it in her to lift her head up, not as her stomach protested the actions, still grumbling and heaving, ready to spill out again, yet there wasn't anything left to vomit.

Bile stung her throat and mouth, but at the moment, she couldn't bring herself to be disgusted or ashamed by her actions. All that was left was unadulterated fear that shook to the very core of her being and fuck, more tears clouded her vision as a broken strangled sound broke free in the harsh realization of the weight of the moment, '_Are we going to die here?'_

Chinami was yanked back to the forefront of reality when she heard the screams that erupted from her sister's being. The sound of scrambling against the rough ground mixed in with the panting caused by exertion from the chubby man and Chinami forced herself to look up to see the two fighting on the ground. Masako screeched and hollered, pushing with her good arm with all of her might against the man's solid shoulder and kick with both legs as the man pushed back, attempting to use his more considerable weight to hold her down, and Chinami didn't want to know what his plans were, she didn't want to know anything.

A dark, crazed look in his eyes told Chinami all she needed to know, and the man abruptly pulled away. Masako didn't let up on her assault, limbs continuing to flail in the air, wacking him anywhere she could reach, but he didn't seem to even feel it as his eyes narrowed dangerously and suddenly, he wrapped his big hand around her thin ankle and yanked her across the concrete.

Masako screamed out in pain, and pure fear crossed her face just as Chinami's eyes widened.

"Stop fighting me, brat! I was going to be kind and let you off without restraining you anymore, but since you won't stop acting ungrateful, this is your fault!"

A flash of limbs had Chinami gasping as the man suddenly, with a giant fist, punched her sister clean across the jaw. Chinami stared in wide-eyed horror as Masako's head flew back with force, following another crunching sound and another, and _another_ \- he never stopped. The man punched her again and again, relentlessly digging his fists into her pretty features as he sat his butt down on her stomach, pinning her with his weight. Long pale legs kicked and flailed from underneath, with every hit trying to push him off of her, but Masako was too thin and small under his rounded, bulky frame to do a single blow of damage.

Chinami looked up just as his eyes crossed hers, her wide, pained gaze meeting his dark with mirth and insanity. "She made me do this. The world and fate made me do this!" He told her, voice wavering under her gaze, and suddenly, Chinami felt her feet moving on their own accord.

The twelve-year-old moved, for the first time, towards the other. Her mind was a buzzing of chaos, a ringing in her ears so loud she couldn't hear anything else besides that noise plaguing her mind. _Ring. Ring. Ring._ _Go. Help. Masako._ She was as numb as the cold, yet a small fire sparked her soul, pulling the strings of her movements, and she had no idea what she was doing, but thankfully, her body seemed to.

Suddenly, her small fist was balled up, and she punched him square in that sickening brown eye that just wouldn't stop _staring_. Immediately a victorious feeling welded up inside her core from the action, and she held back a smile — finally_, you monster. Finally, you are paying._ Then another punch flew at his face, and another, and another. More, more, more… until she couldn't stop herself. The only thing that brought her back to reality was the hand that grasped her wrist, and suddenly she was flying back onto the ground, hitting the pavement so hard it knocked the wind out of her, and she gasped.

_What happened? _

Chinami blinked as her head spun. Disoriented beyond measure and head pounding, somehow, she managed to look back over in time to see the man trying to manage to put one of his bubbles around Masako's head.

As if she'd been thrown down again, the air in her lungs sucked out of her at once, and she froze while simultaneously Masako screeched under the water. Her hands came up to her throat, holding on but trying to hold her breath at the same time, purple eyes open wide with fear, and Chinami couldn't push down the pounding of her chest. The man seemed to observe Masako in interest, ignoring the frantic movements of her legs trying to force him off, a far-away look darkened his features and his wrinkled face contorted even more.

He looked almost _sad_...sorrow filling his gaze, and Chinami wanted to be sick.

"Shhh, it's okay. It'll be over quick, I promise. It's not my fault, though, okay? This is just how it has to be… It's just not fair." He spoke so softly while staring down at Masako's withering form, gazing at her as one would a friend or family member, someone they held close to them, and Chinami sobbed.

"I'm 42 years old, yah know. But I shouldn't have this thing inside of me.. This power. Why me? Why am I a monster now? I'm not a bad person."

He continued to speak, disjointed babbling that didn't make a thread of sense, so Chinami figured it was more to himself than for them to understand. But she didn't care. He just kept talking, and Chinami wanted to scream at him to shut up, the pounding of his voice made her head spin with anger and disgust.

_Why would you do this? Why are you talking, monster? _A thick water sob wracked her small body. Hatred, all she felt was hatred and disgust, distraught with how much she disliked this person, but she just wanted him to _stop - go away - to cease… Cease what? _Chinami froze in place, blinking while asking herself the dreaded question, but she knew the horrible answer chewing at the back of her mind, _to cease living_.

_He deserved to die. I hate him. I hate everything about him. He's a monster. A mistake - _And that thought alone made a quivering pale hand fly over her mouth in horror, a gasp falling from the girl's lips, and she shook against the rain. _How could I think this? _What kind of person was I turning out to be?

"So what if I don't pay my taxes on time, or that I have seven unpaid parking tickets. Or that one time when I slapped that waitress for refusing my advances! It was her fault, okay? She wanted it but was playing games with me! I'm not bad. It's not me!"

The words fell on deaf ears as Chinami curled in on herself, helplessly on the ground like a child. She formed a small cocoon, burying her head in her arms and pulling her knees up to her chest as the tears kept flowing freely down her face.

_Go away. Just go away. Let all this be a horrible nightmare that I'll wake up from. _Chinami pleaded to herself, prayed silently for a miracle, for anything to make this all just go away. A broken mantra that swarmed her thoughts to the point she couldn't make sense of the words, but they branded into her. Her whole body felt like it was on fire as if someone had lit a match and tossed it down her throat. A stinging ache settled in her bones from not only physical exertion but mental exhaustion, and it _hurt, _hurt so damn bad she couldn't see straight. Her knuckles felt raw and ribbed, the skin tattered and bleeding out in bright crimson against the pale hue, but the feeling was nothing compared to the hurting of the rest of her body.

_It hurts so bad, please just stop._

Chinami cried out again as another wave of pain burst inside of her, sending horrible wracks of shivers up and down her body. _Fuck,_ she seethed, teeth-gritting so hard she had half a mind to be concerned that they'd break off, but blinding hot pain seared her bones, and she couldn't help it.

The raven-haired girl felt the trail of tears, soaking her flushed cheeks as she squeezed her knees even tighter to her chest. Everything just hurt, felt like someone hitting her back over and over again with a crowbar at full force. Black spots filled her vision, dotting the surrounding area every time she tried to blink and _shit,_ Chinami dug her blunt fingernails into the skin of her biceps until half-moons scarred her skin keeping her only in slight awareness. Realization struck her, and she scrunched her eyebrows together in worry, _I'm going to pass out_.

_Don't pass out. You can't leave Masako alone!_

Just as Chinami felt like she was about to pass out from all of the torment, in the back of her mind, she barely heard the man's talking cease. Another strange pain bloomed at the base of her lower back, and from her fetal position, the young girl yanked her limbs to herself in a subconscious form of comfort, but the feeling wouldn't go away.

_What is this? _

Chinami grit her teeth so hard that a slight clicking noise rang out from her teeth grinding together, and she squeezed her knees to her chest in pain. Every single small move seemed to intensify the feeling tenfold, shooting up her spine in waves, and she gulped, trying with relentless determination to keep her cries at bay. But everything hurt, like tiny little knives piercing all over her, stabbing deep within her body.

_What did I do? Am I dying?_

Sudden silence floated around the space, and Chinami couldn't move from her cocoon, too afraid to even breathe as she held her breath in her lungs for fear that she'd make her pain worse. _Why is it so quiet?_ Her mind buzzed with possibilities, but she couldn't bring herself to lift her head up.

Her cocoon was her safety net, and she could pretend, for at least a few seconds, that everything was okay, and they were fine, _it was just a regular day after school where they were supposed to pick up their brother_…But it wasn't. There was nothing 'typical' about this day Chinami's mind needlessly supplied, and the girl withered, eyes squeezing shut, and all she could hear was the warm puffs of air gently padding against the skin of her arms from the exhale of her nostrils.

_Someone, please help us. Please save Masako._

Labored breathing broke Chinami out of her inner musings, and slowly, the girl found herself uncurling from her position and with unsteady hands, cautiously propped herself up. Although, she immediately regretted the decision, her eyes widening in absolute shock to see the man's wavering body in front of her.

All of the blood in her body immediately froze over, going as cold as an iceberg and leaking out of her veins. The color drained from her face, leaving her as pale and lifeless as a corpse when her gaze fell on the bright stain of crimson leaking, down, down, _down_...dripping from a mangled hole that gaped in his chest refusing to clot, blood spilling out over her sister, coating her in a sheet of red. The hole was perfectly round and pierced straight through the chest of his ruined white button-up. So red in the rain, Chinami easily followed the dripping path of mangled flesh, raw pink stark against the white, and she could see the severed organs stringing across in a fruitless attempt to hang on to their owner.

"Well, looks like fate decided to not make me the only _**monster**_."

...

**A/N -** _And here was the intro! A pretty long one at that, I hope that's acceptable. Oops.. xD Thanks to my beta, **seasel**. They are what truly made this chapter and I can't thank them enough for everything. They have pushed me passed my limits and even cleaned this mess up to create something much better than I could've imagined. Their edits and everything are GOLDEN. Thank you **seasel**, my dearest! :)_

_Please give us constructive criticism! improvement is always welcome. Comments are too!_

_This story is open for OCs so send them in! Make sure to read the rules before sending one in. We're accepting both heroes and villains. I hope this intro gives a better look at the world we're in and some of the darker vibes we're going for._

_Thanks again for checking this out!_

_Mochi out! ;D_


	4. Chapter One - Get outta my territory

**Chapter One**

**Get outta my territory, yah bastard!**

**(Present day, 9:26 p.m. Tokyo, Japan)**

_It's important for us to blend into the background In this world. For we are the cursed ones._

...

A light breeze shuffled through the crisp night air, ruffling gently through silky brunette locks, just cutting through with a slight chill against the flashing neon flood of streetlights and shop corners lighting up the dark blue hue of the night. Ieyasu sighed to himself while shoving his hands into the pocket of his red hoodie to fend away the cool night air from biting at his fingertips.

Just great, of course, it was starting to get cooler at night.

Ieyasu quietly let out a groan as hazel-green eyes rolled back into his skull in irritation. Obviously, he knew the logic of weather and seasons but that didn't exactly make him ecstatic for chilling into a popsicle out on the streets. '

This was going to suck so bad Immediately a mental checklist ran through his mind of the things he needed to gather and possible places to stay during the evening hours for the next few weeks. Honestly, it was times like these that he wishes he could go home… Or, at least, the voice in the back of his mind was set on reminding him again and again but it was his own damn choice, thank you very much, so shut up annoying voice and go away.

He would not be going back. He'd freeze his ass off on the dirty street if he had to but home wasn't home anymore… It was no longer an option.

Ieyasu Hajime hadn't expected to ever be a seventeen-year-old out on the street, but it's funny how life has a way of deciding fate for you. So he took what he could and rolled with it, adapting to the punches as best that he could. Although, no matter how strong his resolve was, nothing quite prepared you for the vicious weather and other low points of living in an unpredictable circumstance. Hajime managed to scrimp and save every yen to stay afloat because despite whatever life decided to throw at him, he wouldn't give in. He took every moment as a challenge and he was determined to best it all.

He would do better, be stronger, save more. Screw the weather, screw the people, the streets, the city - he was a _survivor._

But this survivor was cold, dammit and exhaustion settled deep within his bones and to be truthful with himself, he wouldn't be opposed to a warm bed next to a heater with cozy blankets if it were offered to him.

_Fuck, I should've taken that weird elderly lady up on her offer to crash on her couch but her cats probably would've crushed me to death in my sleep if she didn't try something first._ Well, just like every day, he'd make do some way or another without spending a penny.

He was suddenly very aware of the handful of bills and change deep down in the pocket of his black joggers plastered to his long muscular legs. Damnit, he was going to have to figure out something else to do tomorrow to make more money, but that would be his future self's problem for now. One challenge to solve at a time.

The seventeen-year-old maneuvered through the lingering groups of people on the streets, blankly passing by without so much as a glance, more occupied with the thoughts plaguing his mind before he heard it.

Ieyasu paused mid-step, black sneaker centimeters above the sidewalk at the sound of a woman's voice. A yelp rang out from the street over and Ieyasu was suddenly alert. He wouldn't go sprinting off to the source. It wasn't any of his business, but ignoring it was proving to be difficult. The brunette forced himself to walk forward, in step with his previous destination in mind, but his attention was on high alert.

"Yah! Stop it!"

Another sound echoed around him and the teen narrowed his eyes. It was definitely the same person from before, but this time she sounded more irritated than frantic. Ieyasu subconsciously sped up his pace as he noticed the volume of the voices getting louder. Whoever it was, they were close by now, just up the street.

Hajime came to a stop just at the edge of one of the adjacent side streets, just jutting out from the main street as he tried to calm his rapid breathing while remaining in the shadows enough to not be noticed. Well, he paused hazel eyes narrowing to observe the surrounding area. This has to be where I heard her, the brunette mused while taking a careful step back against the brick wall and out of the way of the finely dressed foot traffic.

The boy's first thoughts were, wow did he_ not_ fit in here with a capital NOT - and secondly, why in the world did no one seem phased by random yelling?

Hajime scoped the scene from the shadows, body meshing with the brick wall cutting against his cold aching back. Groups of people - women in gorgeous dresses, both long and short though not without an abundance of jewelry dripping from every crevice. And men in equally lavish suits, dress shirts, and trousers entered and exited freely from a luminescent archway. Every time the double doors swung open, Ieyasu was hit with the amazing smell of food that had his stomach rumbling and crying out for him to eat, savor, anything now. But the teen stubbornly pushed the hunger down.

_If I can just stay out of the way, then it'll be easier for me to scout._

A small group of three women came into sight just around the corner where they were exiting the restaurant. The three were noticeably pretty, older women with fine expensive dresses on. What a waste of money, the boy blinked, mouth slightly twitching in distaste at even the idea of anything expensive. Although, the frivolous thoughts were put on the back burner when he saw the man who seemed to push his luck with the woman in the center of the group.

And wow, could this guy be even more of a stereotypical delinquent? Ieyasu mused as his gaze trailed up to the short, slicked-back wheat blonde hair that matched the equally light and scruffy goatee around his thin mouth and rounded chin. A small silver chain dangled from his long neck, with a gaudy flower shaped pendant with a tiny green gem in the center.

He was slim and lean, his figure enhanced by the tight jeans on his legs, and the blue and black alternating striped button-up that looked almost too small for his torso. From this angle, it wasn't easy for Ieyasu to guess his age but he'd have to say he was around his late twenties to early thirties at the most.

A petite woman with her bright red hair in a stylish pixie-cut turned up her nose at the thin blonde-haired man who if his posture was anything to go by, with his neck jutted outwards and chest puffed up like a bird strutting around for a mate, he was clearly trying to make his move on the women. The redhead let out an exasperated, 'hmph!' before crossing her arms over the front of her dress and her two friends followed suit.

_Ahh, she had to be the one that all the commotion was about_. The brunette clicked his tongue and stepped back further into the shadows, hands buried deep in the big front pocket of his hoodie.

"Come on, stop being like that, cutie. Why don't you three come with me? I'd even be cool with just one of you," the blonde man gave them a sleazy grin that made even Ieyasu uncomfortable before a pretty, tall dark-skinned woman at the red-haired lady's side stepped up, placing a gentle hand on the shorter's shoulder. With one fierce glare at the man, he seemed to only smile wider.

"Look, creep. We already told you we're not interested, so just please go away and we won't call the cops."

"Ooh, I like a challenge! This'll be fun then. You ladies sure have a lot of spunk. I like it."

"Rei-chan, I'll call a taxi…" the last of the three women nervously whispered, before moving to dig into her purse in search of her cellphone.

Suddenly, the man's lips pursed and just as Ieyasu was expecting a cat-call, a powerful gust blew through the air, cutting sharp against the already cool night. The group of women all yelped, hands rushing out to keep their skirts down against the current as the man bent over with laughter.

_What the hell? No...It can't be_..Ieyasu's eyes narrowed at the realization of yet another cursed ability user and the annoyance that was already building in him slowly rose ten-fold. Ieyasu's lips curled into a grimace, dark scowl altering his features as an equally dark feeling tightened his chest into a hard knot. The other man was an ability user, just like himself and he hated what the other decided to do with his curse.

But fine, if he wanted to prey on others then Ieyasu would teach him a lesson. This was just the challenge he needed for the night. Another sick fuck to crush beneath his feet.

The teen quickly pulled the face mask out from his pocket. The material shown in the faint streetlights as a soft pink, with a cute little mouth that resembled a kitten, small whiskers printed on either side with two rounded blotches of red on either 'cheek' as a blush.

_And fuck, really?_ Ieyasu berated himself, cursing silently as he ran a hand through his hair, sometimes he regretted being so cheap… Especially when the cheapest face mask in the supermarket was this kitty mask. But oh well. He saved three hundred yen with this purchase and it would do for now. He thought with a sigh before carefully tucking the strings behind his ears, securing the mask over his mouth and nose, then for the final touches, tugged the hood of his jacket over the locks of dark brown stands.

Ieyasu emerged from the shadows with quick strides of his long legs and the tall teen finally stood just a few mere feet away from the creep who, still bent over, chuckling while trying to angle his eyes up the ladies' skirts.

"You-you're one of those! Those monsters! The freaks who can do those weird things!" The redheaded woman shrieked in horror, dainty hands clutching the hem of her purple dress in a vice. Cold realization washed over her and her friends as the three women slowly backed up towards the brick front of the restaurant. Another laugh echoed around the buildings, as the blond man stood up to his full height and Ieyasu noted, despite being relatively tall, he was still at least a few inches shorter than himself.

"You bet your sexy ass I'm a freak, baby! They call me the Whistleblower! Just wait until you find out. Now come on and scream more for me! I'll take you little blonde at the side."

_If I hear any more of this guy's gross lines, I'm going to murder him myself to put me out of my misery._ With a roll of his eyes, Ieyasu pulled a small object from the pocket of his joggers. The familiar smooth feeling of the spherical object against his fingertips almost seemed to conduct electrical energy in his chest. A live wire of thrill buzzed through his veins and with a little smile, he flipped the inner switch in his mind 'on,' just as his fingertips gently pushed the marble from his grasp, flicking it forward.

The tiny white swirled marble soared through the air so quickly if one hadn't been closely watching they would miss it. But they definitely wouldn't miss the contact, Ieyasu smirked.

...

**Ieyasu Hajime**

**_(_** **Shatter_ )_ -** **With this quirk, Yasu's touch can cause targets (whether living or not) to shatter regardless of their hardness or condition.**

...

A cry fell from the blonde man's lips as he lifted his hand to the shell of his ear, quickly bringing the appendage back down to see crimson staining his hand. "What the fuck!" The delinquent spun around, brown eyes were livid as he scanned the area for the culprit before brown met hazel green.

"Why don't you scream for me, huh? Come on, I'm sure we'd all love to hear it." Ieyasu smirked through his mask, the tall teen easily stocking forward at a leisurely pace, one step at a time towards the blonde.

"You little punk! How dare you interfere with me! What the fuck did you do to my ear?! You could've torn it right off you fucker!" The man snapped, and Ieyasu watched as his scowl grew bigger and bigger before his lips gave way and yellowish gapped teeth bared in the night. Suddenly, the man narrowed his eyes and with a few blinks, he lifted his bloodstained hand, pointing a finger at Ieyasu's face. "Also, who do you think you are coming up to me with such a lame mask! I'm not about to fight some loser kitty. What the hell man?"

The comment only served to fuel the raging fire suddenly gripping his chest and Ieyasu steamed. This fuck was just looking to get himself killed tonight. He was not in any position to be making these kinds of comments.

"FORGET about my mask, you freak! Consider that a warning if you don't fuck off because believe me," The brunette paused just in front of the other, eyes shining with mirth and a hint of something else, something darker and dangerous - determination and a slight craze, "if I wanted it, you'd already be pinned to the ground with all of your vital points sliced through and I bet you'd forget all about my cat mask then, asshole. So get outta here. You're interrupting my night, pest."

"WHAT?!" The blonde yelled, eyes widening to the size of saucers looking just as exasperated as Ieyasu felt and how dare he. "You're the one interrupting my night, you punk! Mind your own damn business. If you're looking to hook up with some bitch, get your own! I'm already claiming this spot." With every word the blonde jabbed Ieyasu's chest with a finger and honestly, the brunette was mildly impressed that he at least had some guts, but still. How dare this filth touch him!

The teen's hands surged with wavering energy, a strong pulsing force that promised whispers of pain...trauma...death, all could be achieved with one touch. And fuck, Hajime would be lying to himself if he said the urge to reach out and yank the man's hand away wasn't strong but he wouldn't do it. He just couldn't. He wouldn't make some fool force his hand - But the energy was still there, the strange waves of killing he wanted to swallow down or turn on himself…

_Shut the hell up, get ahold of yourself._ Ieyasu hissed, biting down harshly on his tongue in anger. He wouldn't think like that. Not today. There was always another way to do this, the brunette mused. All he had to do was hold himself back from knocking the guy out and talk to him civilly and THEN punch him if necessary.

_You can do it. Believe in yourself. Just don't punch him...Don't punch. Keep your hands down._

"You -"

Just as Ieyasu opened his mouth to reply, a strange buzzing sound suddenly filled the narrow street and both Ieyasu and the delinquent turned their heads at the sound, ignoring the yelling of the women.

_Oh just fucking great,_ Ieyasu rolled his eyes as sheer frustration pulsed through his exhausted body and resisted the urge to groan and yank his hair out. Yet another interruption for the night. Just want he wanted. The sound was steadily getting louder and louder like someone left a large fan plugged up and it was blowing in the wind.

_What the hell?_

A flash of purple caught his eye that was definitely not the hot redhead's dress but before he could focus on the strange object flying through the air at breakneck speed, something hard smashed into both his and the blonde's chest and the two men both flew backwards onto their butts.

Ieyasu gasped when his butt and back collided with the stone steps of the side street and sudden pain bloomed up his spine and fuck, what in the world was that? The brunette slowly managed to pull his body into an upright position as the blonde at his side rolled around clumsily against the ground, a string of curses falling from his lips as he blubbered uselessly to himself.

Ieyasu rolled his eyes, mumbling, "dumbass," under his breath just as he remembered the strange flash of purple from before. His gaze immediately locked onto a small figure that hovered in the air, yes hovered like a bird swooping down for their prey and Ieyasu felt the gasp of surprise leave his lips, more than he heard it. There was a flying pest in front of his face.

_A tiny, flying little girl- thing? Maybe?_ Ieyasu quickly lifted his hands to rub his eyes under his mask before blinking again at the tiny creature and yep, it was true. There was a small flying girl in the alleyway who just kicked him in the chest with her tiny grey laced up combat boots and was now staring down her long, black pointed nose with those unnaturally huge blacked-out eyes in such an unnerving fashion, almost like an insect of some sort.

The girl's arms were covered in a short purple cropped jacket with a light lavender outline and she had popped the collar up to cover the lower half of her face. It looked as if the jacket was made with some kind of opening at the back to expose small almost transparent wings that fluttered energetically behind her. A small silver zipper shone brightly under the streetlamp, catching what little light there was and it was all finished off with matching pants.

Although, with Ieyasu awestruck by the frantic flutter of the new addition to the fight, wings almost angelic with the cascade of street lights, he let his guard down for a few seconds too long.

The little voice in the back of his head hissed at him, suddenly as prevalent as the strange creature in front of him, '_Why are you standing there? Don't let down your guard. Move, do something. Stranger, there's a stranger.'_ and Ieyasu grit his teeth.

He knew it was stupid to freeze up but his limbs felt oddly heavier than before and he couldn't shake the weight settling low in his stomach. _Fear. Nuh-uh, that can't be it… No_, Ieyasu shook his head as if the thoughts would be forced out with the action. He wasn't afraid of her, not a tiny little child, it was just..What?

_She's a... -_

Something as hard and rough as a scaley stone smacked him right in the face and suddenly, a barrage of the weird attacks knocked the breath right out of the brunette. Shit! Ieyasu coughed, lungs stinging as black dots filled his vision after another blow to the head.

What the fuck? Panic flooded his system and he realized, with another choked sound of mixed distress and surprise that the little creature was punching and kicking him with her tiny hard arms and legs.

_Does she have armor on or something?_ Ieyasu wondered and as quickly as he could possibly move after such a startle, jerked backward and out of her line of range.

And then the little girl opened her mouth.

"I already claimed this spot, you bastards! Get the fuck outta my territory! Stinger will kick your ass if you don't leave."

There was so much rage in her petite little body that Ieyasu was for certain she might explode at any second. Despite her delicate appearance, the girl spoke with a deeper voice than he expected, all rough and tough - yet another delinquent.

She shook with her declaration, petite form tensing up like a rock. She was easily half of his size and couldn't be taller than three-foot-tall, maybe a little more than that at best. And if Ieyasu was being begrudgingly honest, and hadn't of just gotten hit and kicked by this tiny little monster he would've admitted that she was adorable in her little outfit that matched her lavender-colored pixie cut but he didn't care.

"What the hell is your problem!? Who do you think you are, coming up here and hitting people? I'm trying to help these women, you idiot." Ieyasu yelled out as he clutched a new forming bump on the side of his skull and continued to cautiously back up towards the brick wall. Wow, this was just great. He tries to help someone out, then some fool comes and gets in the way. Was this even worth it?

"I'm sick of you shitty criminals getting in my territory and trying to use your perverted ways to attack women. What sad creatures you are that you have to resort to this to find a woman. But I do enjoy taking victory over yah lot of losers." She shook her head, not stopping for even a second as she moved towards him again, her wings zooming the short distance through the air. The male felt his eyes widen at her accusations and a wave of anger shot through him. Did she group him with that blonde pervert?

"I'm not a pervert!" Incredulously, Ieyasu jumped back just as she raised her fist to take another swing at him, missing by just a few minuscule centimeters and the brunette felt the rush of air from her hardened arm shifting through the night.

"Yeah, yeah. Another freak in denial. You're not gonna fool me with that bullshit you fool yourself with."

Sighing to himself, Ieyasu's eyes slid shut as another hit managed to graze his shoulder. _'I don't think I have a choice,_' if he wanted to get the girl off of his back he would have to fight her, even if he didn't want to. She wasn't going to stop, that much was obvious, and if he wanted to end this quickly then fighting back was the only option left.

So against his better judgment, Ieyasu used all of his focus to switch the mental button in his mind, making sure his abilities were safely locked away before he opened his eyes again. Just as before, another hit and another followed in short spurts of pain from hard limbs but this time, Ieyasu caught her arm mid-swipe.

At his movements, the purple-haired girl let out a surprised yelp, her impossibly huge bug eyes somehow managing to widened even further and Ieyasu smirked. Hah, got her! Taking the split moment of shock to widen the playing field and get even. With a tightened hand around her small wrist, Ieyasu yanked the insect forward off of her balance and Stinger cried out. The girl's wings frantically struggled to keep her airborne and before she knew it, Ieyasu threw her through the air like she didn't weigh more than a feather.

Giant black orbs met with the frightened gaze of the blonde idiot cowering near the group of women before the two promptly collided, smashing with force into one another before gracelessly falling to the ground.

"YAH! Ya bastard! You have just unleashed something you'll wish you never did."

Ieyasu ignored the girl's angry yelling all together, gritting his teeth in slight annoyance as he smoothed down the wrinkles in his hoodie. Stinger let out a groan as she sat upon the chest of the blonde delinquent and Whistleblower spluttered below her. Ieyasu felt the hard stare of burning fury more than he saw it before the girl started spilling rather colorful curses that would've made a lesser person blush.

Although, Ieyasu brushed her off like a pesky fly as his eyes fell on the group of women still huddled together in fear, but now staring at him like he had a second head and 'Shit! I completely forgot about them' Ieyasu adjusted the hood over his hair before approaching the women with raised hands.

"Well, so much for an easy night huh? Sorry about all of this, I don't know her," Ieyasu paused, jutting a finger towards the angry little disoriented monster still sitting on top of Whistleblower, with tufts of blonde hair fisted in her grip, "Are you three okay? That man didn't hurt any of you, right?"

A rapid buzzing followed by an animalistic growl unlike anything Ieyasu had ever heard echoed around the narrow street containing such ferocity that he felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck before a force barrelled into him from behind. Ieyasu cried out as he fell to the ground and a weight crushed him from behind, pinning him to the street.

"How DARE you pretend to be a hero after you tried to attack them. You're no hero, that's my role, you scum." Stinger growled, pressing down on the back of his skull and driving his face into the concrete.

"Yah! Are you three okay? Actually - What the hell do you think you're doing just standing here letting some nasty men take advantage of you? Don't take that! Get the hell outta here while they're down. And remember this is Stinger's territory! The great heroine will protect you because I'm the fucking best!" The tiny girl, Stinger shoved her free fist up in the air in triumph and though they couldn't see the lower half of her face due to her jacket collar, it was easy to tell that she was beaming in self-satisfaction.

The three women who were still stunned from the night's events only stared in shock down at the girl, the color drained from their faces leaving them all as white as a sheet. Then, all at once they turned and sprinted away as fast as their heeled feet would allow them too. Horrified screams filled the air while the redhead outright cried, words of "hordes of mutant monsters!" falling from her lips as the three turned the corner and disappeared.

Really? Hordes of monsters? God, could he get a fucking 'thank you' every now and then? With a sigh, the brunette slowly turned his attention back to 'Stinger'. The tiny girl had a hand on her hip, long pointed cone of a nose turned towards the sky as her other hand continued to dig painfully into the back of his head.

Ieyasu just wanted to kick the shit out of the tiny monster for all of the trouble she'd caused in one night. God, could he just not catch a break today? The force of her grip left him unable to get upright but that didn't cease his struggling. He didn't want to be under her restrain and if that's what she wanted he would at least try to make it difficult and as annoying as possible to keep him down.

Tonight was becoming a real pain in the ass.

"Get off of me you brat!" Ieyasu hissed through clenched teeth as a rough laugh shook the girl's form.

Though, It seemed that the blonde man had finally found his voice again through all of this, "Listen here, little maggot. I don't know what a small child is doing out here late at night but you shouldn't cut into other people's fights and go claiming this is your territory."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Ieyasu knew Whistleblower fucked up. He could feel it in the air, almost like there had been a physical drop in temperature and a chill ran through his body, causing his hair to stand on end and damn. Even if he hadn't been the one to voice it, he felt the girl's rage starting to heat like a thousand suns scalding them. And for once, the blonde got the hint as he shut his mouth with an audible click like a trap and actually, Ieyasu felt a small sliver of sympathy for him.

"-What did you say?" Stinger breathed, the words sounding unusually soft and wrong in her intimidating tone and Ieyasu almost relished in the feeling of the girl's weight leaving his back. The blonde gulped before anxiously clearing his throat and Stinger was on him. The purple-haired girl snatched the man's chain in her grip in one short swipe that even Ieyasu missed the moment it happened. She leaned down with her pointed nose jabbing directly in his face, eye to eye with the stammering and floundering blonde and it didn't take a rocket scientist to see that she was livid.

Just as quickly as the girl had flown in as a whirlwind mess of wild energy, she was buzzing in place with anger. Curses poured from her lips, an unending waterfall of colorful words. Yasu and the delinquent watched warily as she jumped up and down, grey combat boots stomping the concrete with loud thumps that echoed around the narrow street. Her arms waved around the air like a madwoman and her whole body practically vibrated, reminding Ieyasu of a compact battery. She sure had an abundance of energy but was very unbecoming of some kind of 'heroine' or wannabe cop savior. Whatever the hell she was going for by showing up here and stealing his fight.

"Whoa there, girlie… Why don't we all just chill out and forget this ever happened? We can just go our separate ways and -" The blonde started, and I snapped out a fierce, "Yeah, you wish. You did this to yourself." that caused him to shut up.

"YA BASTARD! I'M NOT A MAGGOT, I'M A FUCKING MOSQUITO, YOU BLIND FUCK! And I am NOT a child! Are you sure you're not the child with how low your IQ seems to be? I'm a teenager for your information! I turned sixteen earlier this year!"

She was talking so fast that even if the blonde wanted to get a word in, he couldn't. Ahh, so just as expected, she was a mosquito… Ieyasu thought in interest. That made perfect sense with her glistening wings, long, black nose, and equally dark oval-shaped eyes that practically bulged from her head.

"I attack like the equivalent of a thousand stinging hornets ya bastard! Would ya like to find out?"

As much as Ieyasu would love to see the annoying blonde man crushed like a bug, this child was honing in on his job. This was his fight, he started it and he'd finish it and definitely without the help of a tiny mosquito, no matter how feisty.

Although, before he could pipe up, the man's feet were slowly lifting off of the ground being dragged along by Stinger, whom, in all of her yelling, had effectively activated the frantic fluttering of her wings to get the two of them in the air. Despite her tiny size compared to the much larger man in her grasp she didn't seem to be struggling. But Ieyasu had a sneaky suspicion it could have been her anger fueling her strength.

Suddenly, the man's body was flying back through the air with one toss from Stinger and he was crashing back against the ground with another yelp. Black eyes abruptly landed on him and Ieyasu stared back with a fierce glare. Finally, he was tired of waiting for this little girl and her ridiculous fits.

"Now, you're next kitty!" Stinger shouted out in the street slowly flying towards him and Ieyasu annoyedly scoffed, picking himself up off of the ground with a little dusting of his joggers.

"What's with everyone and my mask? Okay, Stinger, or whatever the hell your name is. You're butting into my fight here."

"Your fight?! Are you as deaf as you are stupid? Did you not hear me say this was my territory earlier, punk? You know what I do to villains like you, huh? I rip 'em a new one so you'll always remember who was better than you."

"Villain? A new one—" Ieyasu sputtered, before gathering himself and quickly stood up. "I don't want a little runt like you coming up and stealing my challenge, you hear me? If this is your 'territory,' then maybe you should've gotten here first! It didn't seem like there was anyone else here to me. And I will not be shown up by the likes of you."

"Well, too bad, ya bastard because I'm the best and everyone here knows it! This is my turf and If you want it then you have to beat me and that's impossible. No one can outshine me! I'm the star of this shitty black hole and I swallow pathetic losers like you for breakfast."

Ieyasu was starting to become fed up with the tiny sixteen-year-old and her apparent superiority complex and hah, wasn't that just great? Someone who could possibly rival his own selfish attitude. That was a first and he wasn't sure he liked it. On the contrary, she was just the type of person he absolutely loathed.

It wasn't like Ieyasu didn't know his limits. He knew when to fight or flee, and when someone could best him. He wasn't entirely against teaming up to take some freak down but he refused to work with someone as big-headed as Stinger who couldn't seem to even reach down from her high horse with those short legs of hers. The more she talked, the more annoyed he was getting. Fists clenched wordlessly at his side as his jaw clicked shut and was she just talking at this point to hear herself or to make a point? He couldn't even tell but it seemed she just enjoyed running her mouth.

Finally, Ieyasu held up a palm facing the girl half his height and immediately her talking ceased.

"I think I've heard enough of your blabbering. Is all you do brag about your talents? Because so far I haven't really seen anything impressive. Sure you took us by surprise when you made a quick airel arrival but honestly, that's all I got out of that."

Yasu could practically see steam pouring out of her ears as her tiny body hardened up, shoulders lifting tensely as she sprung her fists out in a ready position in front of her body. Like small bundles just barely any bigger than a toddlers fist she guarded her torso and chest with the bend of her elbows, right fist held up higher in line with her nose and left lowered to just below her chin. Transparent wings buzzed behind her and, what was that? A nervous tick? No. She's not the nervous type. Hmm… Excitement then? Fire? Challenge… Brunette eyebrows shot up in realization and yes, that's it, the thrill and rush of the moment.

"And apparently," Ieyasu paused with a quick jut of his thumb, Stinger's eyes following the movement, "that's all he got out of it too because he's getting away, Miss Talent."

The delinquent who was in the midst of trying to sneakily crawl away suddenly paused in his movements, head-spinning around towards the two teens' direction. And upon seeing the blazing soul burning fire in the girl's large black eyes, the blonde man screamed.

"Noo-no please don't hurt me! Stinger-sama, you are a goddess all your own and I will worship the ground you walk on if you please just let me go! I am nothing compared to your talents, just a lowly criminal trying to find love in the world…" The delinquent was really beefing up his begging, but Stinger was not relenting. She stomped over with those blacked-out eyes unnervingly and unwavering as she rubbed her palms together, quiet chuckles leaving her tiny form and the blonde at her feet gulped as the look of sheer fear darkened his features. "PLEASE! Have mercy on me! I promise to never look up women's skirts again."

Ieyasu actually cracked a small smile in amusement, shaking his head to himself as he watched 'Whistleblower' frantically crawl down the street as fast as he could with an angry little mosquito on his trail, screeching profanities as he screamed back for mercy.

"Why you little - GET BACK HERE!"

While the two were acting like complete idiots, Ieyasu shoved a hand into his pocket and produced another marble, holding the smooth object between his fingertips. And just as Stinger was about to pounce, strangely enough with her long, sharp-looking nose aimed at the back of the blonde's head, Ieyasu sent the marble flying.

It soared through the air in a blur of white, just barely missing nicking the girl's shoulder before just on time, the broken pieces shattered apart and stabbed right into the man's back.

Expecting a scream, Ieyasu blinked in surprise when the sound never came and instead, the blonde slammed, stomach and face-first onto the ground. For a second, the beating of his heart sped up and the question of, 'Is he dead?' rang through Ieyasu's confusion before low and behold, the little purple-haired gremlin pivoted around to face him.

"How dare you, bastard, knock him out before I could get to him! You're about to be afraid now that I have you to myself! I've been craving a little blood to hype up my energy, but passed out losers aren't any real challenge. So you'll have to do. Prepare for a fight, marble freak!"

Ieyasu tensed up, his fingers wrapped around another marble from his pocket, "Alright, you short brat, I'll knock you right off your stupid high horse."

However, before either one could pound each other to a pulp as badly as they were craving to do, a quiet melody suddenly filled the air and Ieyasu's gaze flitted down to her pants pocket. Stinger paused in her fighting stance at the sound - a jingle, maybe? Definitely the noise of a phone.

"Damn it," Stinger cursed to herself before shoving a hand in to fish out a cell phone. The girl tilted the screen towards her face and eyes widening a small fraction, she quickly shoved it back down and before Ieyasu knew it, she turned in the other direction and was sprinting off.

"We'll settle this later, weirdo! I gotta go. More important things to do than standing around all night with you."

Ieyasu watched the girl disappear around the line of buildings until the faint thudding of her boots finally faded away. The teen blinked under the light fall of streetlamps as he realized that the area was now abandoned, the restaurant at the end of the narrow street closed for the night and the rest of the adjacent businesses save for a few night clubs were also bathed in darkness. Great, Ieyasu groaned, how long had he been engaged with Stinger? She wasted a good chunk of his night. Hazel eyes darted over to the only body left in the area, where 'Whistleblower' sprawled out cold against the dirty sidewalk.

"Looks like I'm stuck with cleanup duty then, thanks to that little pest," Ieyasu muttered with a long, drawn-out sigh and a curse to the wind. The brunette slowly approached the blonde and once he was at his side, he slowly bent down next to his unconscious body. Making sure he had mentally shut his ability off before he lifted careful hands to pluck the marble bits from the man's back. With each pull from the bits lodged into his skin, blood oozed out in small streams and Ieyasu wrinkled his nose.

"Well, at least you're alive… Might be kind of sore when you wake up but it's your own fault." Ieyasu mumbled aloud to the body as he meticulously worked to get all the pieces out. The guy was a freak, for sure, there wasn't any doubt of his sleazy behavior with the poor innocent women that just wanted to go about their night, but he could tell Whistleblower wasn't a hardened criminal. More like a hard-headed idiot, Ieyasu thought with a quiet chuckle and roll of his eyes. But he wouldn't leave the idiot just injured on the street. Even if he was a creep, he wasn't necessarily a villainous person.

"Alright, last piece." The teen subconsciously chattered, and with a slight tug, harder than he had to pull on the previous pieces, he plucked out the final sharp shard from just below his shoulder blade where it cut deeper than the rest. He couldn't hide the sigh of relief that left his lips when the last piece emerged free from the wounded flesh, and he stared at the gleaming deep red that stained the white surface. A strangely uncomfortable churning simmered low in his stomach but the brunette pushed the feeling down just as quickly as it appeared with a gulping swallow.

"I guess I better get rid of these before some other idiot accidentally cuts themselves."

Ieyasu was just about to stand up when a small flash of white caught his gaze. _Did I miss a piece?_ He wondered to himself before reaching out to just on the other side of the sidewalk beside the unconscious man's right leg but, when his fingers grazed against it, he realized that it wasn't a stray marble shard but a thick cardstock paper.

_What's this?_ He quickly held it up into the faint light, eyes narrowing in hopes to read whatever the writing said. It was definitely a small business card of sorts and _Did Stinger drop this card?_ Ieyasu stared in wonder as he carefully flipped the card over.

It was small and a light cream color, now that he was able to get a decent look at it and hazel eyes scanned the small black print. It was simple in font and print, but his attention was drawn to a strange illustration in the far right corner. What looked to be a thin rope-like design curled across the edge of the card, with little kinks that alternated between interwoven red and green tread and faintly, the odd picture reminded him of traditional Japanese artwork he'd seen in family holiday stops to old temples.

Weird, Ieyasu blinked to himself while letting his fingers trail over the design. An address was scrawled across in simple characters, the kanji printed in the middle of the card and Ieyasu eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he turned the card over again. Nope, he let out another long sigh, just an address. It was just a vaguely constructed card and probably nothing important, but he couldn't help but feel a strange sense of curiosity at the mysteriousness of it all. The rope, the address…

Was this a kind of business card? But what kind of business didn't put the name of the company on it somewhere? That was just bad advertisement.

"Oh well," Ieyasu shrugged to himself and with one last look, the teen shook his head. There was no sense staring at it in the middle of the night. He was just about to put the card into his pocket when the neon flashing sign of the closed restaurant showered the card in the light and caused him to notice the small characters just under the zip code.

Was this a place that Stinger frequented? Ieyasu couldn't help but wonder before shoving the card deep into the pocket of his hoodie. Did it honestly matter though if she did or not? It's not like he knew her or cared to see her again. If he did, he would honestly want to punch that smug look off her bug-eyed face. Ieyasu let out a long drawn-out groan, hands shuffling through messy brown bangs.

"Damn it...That little brat just makes me so pissed. Butting in, fighting me, embarrassing me…" For christ's sake, he was just trying to help and she came and fucked it all up, making him look like a chump. But… despite how annoying she was, he just couldn't shake the curiosity that pitted in his chest.

...

**Mochi's Corner:** Thanks to everyone who has been patient and supporting me for this update. And thank you again to those who have sent submissions.

I know this is literally the latest update ever and I have nothing to say but how sorry I am for that fact. Real-life got in the way but I'm slowing down and have more time to write now that I've had changes with college and my job.

** Seasel** has pushed through all of my doubts and has encouraged me every step of the way and I want to dedicate this chapter and story to them! Thank you my dearest friend, you're my light and we can both happy cry together in a corner xD You're the greatest, plus ultra! Love ya. :D They have made this chapter way better than anything I could've produced by myself, so thank you for using your magical editing. :)

And on a super important side note, EVERYONE PLEASE STAY SAFE! Avoid public places and big groups as much as possible and make sure to wash your hands. Take care of yourselves during this pandemic with the coronavirus. Be safe!

We're still open for characters, both heroes and villains. Find the form on my profile.

See ya next chapter!

Your girl,

Mochi ;D


	5. Chapter Two - Bloodlines

_**March 31st Update** \- Syoc still open for ocs! We're looking mainly for female heroes ocs as well as villains of all gender. The Deadline has been decided for hero ocs as of May 18th. villain deadline is undecided._

_I am CRYING over these beautiful reviews...Thank you! I can't believe all of the favs/follows either. Y'all have us shook. 0.o ONWARD TO THE 10,000+ WORD CHAPTER! ACCEPTED OUR BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS GUYS *crawls into sleeping back in the corner* I'm exhausted as hell... _

**Chapter 2**

**Bloodlines - Two sides of the same coin**

_**Every person has three faces. **_

_**The first face you show to the world. **_

_**The second face, you show to closest friends and family. **_

_**And the third face...The third face is never shown to anyone, for this is the most authentic reflection of who you are.**_

…

"_Good morning, wonderful people of Japan! We're here for the truth and nothing but the latest truth. A news channel dedicated to covering the unusual murder cases. TK Radio~ I'm Takumi Ken and today we'll be investigating a recent and gruesome event. Don't worry we'll censor everything out. I'm also here with my co-host Ari Mashiro,"_

"_Hello everyone, I'm Ari, but let's not waste any more time and go to our news reporter live at the scene, Yami-chan~"_

"_Yamiko Tachibani here with breaking news! Reporting hours after a local earthquake struck a playground and resulted in four victims. The play structure is in shambles and the ground heavily ruptured. The scene is devastating and gruesome. It seems the victims were struggling and trying to run but died with varying injuries. One poor boy was found with only his head smashed and beyond recognition, while his entire body only suffered some broken bones. We're here with the boy's mother, we're sorry for your loss, but why did you want to speak with us?"_

"_I want everyone to know it wasn't an ordinary earthquake. Sure, I could feel the ground shake as I was walking to pick my son up… There's no way an earthquake could do that. None of it makes sense!"_

"_What a-are you saying, Mrs. Sakurada?"_

"_Someone must've killed my son! I bet it was those monsters in human's clothing. That's it, that must be it! They're real and they're out there!" _

"_Uhh, cut the camera, let's return back to Takumi and Ari to hear their opinions."_

"_Well, that was something, eh Ari?"_

"_It's understandable, a mother just lost her son. It's normal to be upset and maybe a bit crazy."_

"_Maybe, but in the end. It's all just nonsense, monsters don't exist."_

…

The shitty lighting darkened her insect-like features, casting shadows over the purple-haired teen's long onyx nose and rounded red cheeks, giant gaping black holes of eyes glaring downwards as if the shoes in her hands personally offended her. Her dirty boots splayed out over the table, staining the shiny surface with drops of red blood. Whether the body fluids belonged to marble freak, Whistle-blowing pervert or even herself, she didn't know but it was suspicious as hell to walk around the streets with blood on her feet.

Yeah, there's no way she could lay low with her identity as a vigilante with a bloodstained costume. That just screamed for every police officer in the vicinity to arrest her, which was the last thing she needed right now - _Someone else up her ass._

The pixie-haired mosquito girl subconsciously stuck her tongue out between small white teeth, as she roughly scrubbed the worn blue cloth over the sole of her boot, body as tense as a coil, ready to pop free at any moment like the retractable wings scrunched up on her back. Chika resembled a wind-up toy and her parents were slowly pressing their luck by turning her key over and over, and sure enough, the key would eventually snap off.

_Ahh. And there she was, about to snap off the key __**herself**_...

"Chika, please open the door, dear. This is getting out of hand. Stop being angry and stubborn. Please, just come back inside the house," the worried voice of her mother should sound muffled through the locked door of the shed, and yet Rekka Chika heard it loud and clear - much to her growing frustration and inner turmoil churning low in her gut - as if the woman screamed in her ear. Chika could _feel_ the constipated look on her mom's face. Her pursed lips in a weird scrunched pout and furrowed eyebrows knitting above suspiciously shiny, sorrowful eyes. Her mom wore that expression too many times to count when it came to confronting her so much that Chika didn't even need to look to know it was there.

"Oh, gimme a break! For the last time, Ma', LEAVE ME ALONE. I'm not coming out of the shed, it's my home now, and you need to get that through your thick head! I can handle my damn self." Chika yelled, without taking her eyes off of the dirty grey combat boot in her small-handed grip, furiously working to scrub off the grime and blood from her fight just a few hours prior to with that kitty-masked fuck.

The purple-haired girl could feel her mother's disappointment and anxiety, a tangible squeezing around her throat, ready to clamp down to close off her windpipe and _suffocate_. Drowning. Gasping like a fish out of water to stay above the anxiety ridden waters.

_Her parents were so suffocating. _The turmoil was rising to the brink...about to slip over and flood the brim of her mind, coating Chika's wings in the heaviness, weighing her down without any means of escape…

Caught...sinking..deeper and deeper in the murky depths.

Bright red chubby cheeks darkened in color with her irritation. Short chop of a lavender-shaded pixie cut ruffling along her eyebrow-less forehead and if she had eyebrows they would be scrunched up right now at the insistent prodding. Like a bug placed under a microscope, the last thing she needed was her parents' annoying nagging!

Damn them, they never know when to fuck off! She was mad - no _**BEYOND**_ mad at the stupidity of her parents. Chika's head swam with bubbling aggravation, slamming her boots down with more force than necessary on the workbench, reveling in the blunt thuds while imaging stomping on her parents' faces which made the noise even more satisfying. '_I can handle myself just fine, thank you. I don't need these peasants begging at my feet.' _Chika grumbled to herself.

This is precisely why she was staying in their crappy shed _in the first place._ It wasn't as if this was her ideal dream home. Let's get fucking _real_. There wasn't anything fantastically appealing and excitement-worthy about the small green shed in the family's backyard, at least not in Chika's eyes. And if she had things her way, there wasn't any reason why she'd be staying in this cramped box of a building. It literally only had enough space amongst her dad's workbench and overhead tools for Chika's makeshift bed - A small futon laid directly behind the stool, with an assortment of fluffy pillows and blankets wadded into a ball in the middle of the surface. At the end of the futon laid her messy hero costume she carelessly threw down after she changed into a plain white t-shirt with a shark tooth necklace and dark blue skinny jeans, matching flannel tied around her tiny waist.

Thankfully she was small or living in the shed would've been a nightmare. But truthfully, anywhere was better than staying home with her parents. They acted way too dramatic for a couple entering their fifties like Chika was going to die if she even left their sight for a single second. It's about time for them to shut the fuck up and open their eyes to see the STRONG WOMAN their daughter was becoming! The tiny sixteen-year-old puffed out her relatively flat chest, purposely ignoring the doubtful voice suspiciously similar to her mother whispering in her head, '_some woman you are_…'

Chika was yanked out of her line of musing by a faint exasperated sigh reverberating through the locked green metal door that stood as the only barrier protecting Chika's parents from her steaming wrath.

_Oh yeah_, the girl seethed, unhappy with reality ruining her peace and quiet, _they were still here, weren't they?_ Great.

"Baby, we're just worried about you! You can't be off late at night by yourself and living in a shed l-like some kind of hobo! What kind of parents do you take us for? Now get your butt back into the house this instant or I'll-I'll!…"

Expression hardening, Chika released an aggravated '_tsk_,' digging her abnormally pointed, spindly black fingers into the thick leather of her boot. Dark gaze narrowed to dangerous slits as tiny sock covered feet kick the air from where they dangle over the edge of the stool.

She didn't want to hear the woman's empty threats. It was getting so fucking old and Chika was done with it all. Dark chuckles bubbled up like scorching bile in the back of her throat and she let the bitterness rumble to escape.

"You'll what? Cry? Psssh, like I'm afraid of some tears. I don't NEED you to worry about me. I'm perfectly fine in every way. Now go away, I'm busy! You've wasted enough of my time."

Sometimes reasoning with her parents was like yelling at someone through one-sided glass - merely pointless. They couldn't see the intensity of her determination that bled from her lips. Couldn't open their damn eyes and look at who their daughter had become, _or maybe they just didn't want to see the truth._ She wasn't a _baby_, she was sixteen years old, and she should be treated as such.

She hated anyone who thought she was weak, hated being babied and coddled like some precious thing. She wasn't _a precious __**anything**__._ No..She had climbed and clawed her way down to the inky depths, not stopping until she found the tiny broken stick of a match under the rubble of her heart and rekindled the charcoal, giving birth to her relentless passion.

Rekka Chika was a fighter, a winner. A hero with a deep, unsatisfied hunger, a growing desire that couldn't be sated any other way.

But at the same time, it wasn't like she was surprised because they were the same people who had given her special treatment since she came out of the womb with physical _abnormalities_. A scientific anomaly that left doctors and her parents baffled. She seemed to be the first of her kind like this, with some rare 'disorder' and underwent countless years of observation, treatments, and attention.

Chika was treated like a frail rare flower in a field of the dead, a last of its kind. And yet, she was also the first.

...

**Rekka Chika**

_**( **_**Mosquito **_**)**_ **\- Chika quirk allows her to do anything a mosquito can do, such as: clinging to walls, high-speed flight, seeing in infrared, hardened chitin on her body, and along with an extendable, sharp proboscis for blood consumption!**

…

'_Chika's too delicate for that. Too special. So small and unusual. Treat her with caution,' _is what she heard her entire life. It was as if she had a giant "FRAGILE" sticker plastered to her forehead because wherever the small girl went, it was always the same because she was born slender and small, never growing out of it. At sixteen she was just above 3'5 and weighing less than 50 pounds.

Anyone with eyes could see she was tiny and strange. She didn't look that much like her parents, that much was obvious. What with her arms and legs covered in a shiny black exoskeleton of chitin that she had to lie about since birth, with spindly sharp fingers and three toes on either foot. Of course, her abnormalities didn't stop there and instead were emphasized by her large oval-shaped blacked-out eyes and black, pointed nose equally covered in armor-like chitin.

All of these factors listed her as a 'special case.' With both of her parents being in the medical field, they worked countlessly, trying to discover the cause of their daughter's physical oddities. Still, they were always left with more questions than answers and instead wrote it all off for protecting their special delicate daughter.

Chika was forced to only attend the best schools, surrounded by other people that babied the weird girl, looking at her with the same sad expression - _**pity**_ her mind always bitterly reminded her. All her classmates and teachers, _even classmates' parents _rushed to her aid as if Chika wasn't more than a walking disaster. But that all changed when she had enough and showed her retractable transparent wings in school one fateful day… Although, it had the opposite effect that Chika had wanted when her parents didn't spare a single yen to pay off the staff and students to keep quiet about her _ability_.

And now, it was still the same as ever with her parents crying over their everyday mantra, "_**MUST PROTECT POOR CHIKA!" **_and she was ready to snap.

Despite her delicate build and the fact she might look like a dainty little mosquito that could be squished under your palm, Chika was as tough as nails and just as sharp. And if you got too close, it was inevitable you'd find that part out firsthand with either her sharp hands or long, pointed nose.

On top of that, little did they know she was a heroine to boot! A kick-ass cool heroine who could probably also get any girl to swoon at her coolness… '_I feel only a little bad for all of the jealous guys. Not everyone can be as amazing as me with such gifts,'_ Chika giggled a little to herself, smirk on her face as she forgot about where she was for a second and the conversation she was currently supposed to be participating in with her mother.

"Chika! Don't ignore your mother, listen to me! I'm not speaking just to hear my own voice, you know."

_Great, _Chika growled, her raspy voice - the deeper tone sounding almost wrong coming from such a small and cute girl - bounced off the shed walls, and she hoped the sound would deter her mother's protests, but yet, _why would they?_ For Chika's mom wasn't one to easily give up, as shown by her further persistent knocking just getting louder and more fucking irritating.

The older woman continued her pestering, just speaking louder than her insistent knocks sounding much louder for Chika in the confines of the metal prison of a shed and was she doing that on purpose? '_Hmm is that a migraine coming on? I fucking wonder why.'_ She dryly sighed at the dull throbbing creeping up the base of her neck to her temples.

"There are bugs that carry diseases that could break through your exoskeleton and probably mold that could kill you if you breathe it in...AND don't forget that dog I saw running around the neighborhood last week! He had an unnatural amount of saliva that will probably turn into foam, meaning he has rabies and - "

However, the world finally seemed to have mercy for Chika in the form of her dad who had successfully managed to cut her off from the other side of the door, if his strained muffled voice was anything to go by. And now he was trying to talk some sense into her crazily overprotective mother before Chika could extend her wings and busted out of there to yank her mother's hair by the roots.

"Dear..you're a vet and know that's not true...Anyways, let's just leave her be, for now, okay?" Her father's soft, gentle voice persuaded, and Chika could hear the wavering anxiety, practically tasting it in her mouth and making her gag.

Disgusting. Disturbingly _weak - _He was just like the rest of them, her timid father a spineless worry-wart not brave enough to take on a fly. But she would let it slide for now if he could just get her mom to go inside and hop off her back.

"But, Hideyoshi! She could _**die**_ out here and you don't care!"

"Yuu, that's enough. She just needs a bit of time alone and then she'll come in when she's ready."

The whinny protests of her mother became farther and farther away before Chika heard the clicking sound of the back door opening then shutting with a quiet thud.

_Finally,_ the small girl thought with a long sigh of relief slipping from her thin lips. That was the noise she'd been waiting to hear. Beautiful music to her ears. The reaction was instant. Annoyance drained out of her tiny body, shoulders slumping and glare dropping little by little as silence filled the small space of the shed with the teen left to her devices.

Now that she was alone, she could clean her hero-boots in peace, which is all she wanted for the moment. Or really, what she _truly wanted_ was to stew in her blood-curling anger at the stupid man that infiltrated her territory several hours prior.

It's disgraceful, infuriating, and if she sees him again, she wants to kick his sorry ass.

If? No, no, that's not right. _**WHEN **_she sees him again, she'll kick his sorry ass. Chika just can't shake the feeling that that idiot will continue to step where he doesn't belong, and when he does, she'll get him. It was a promise, one she wouldn't break - couldn't break for the entire night burned into the back of her mind, not letting up as it played over, only fueling her bad attitude and need for a challenge like it was the oxygen to breathe.

And to Chika, it was. She lived to prove how strong she indeed was, showing just how much of a beating her chitin armor could take and how her tiny fists could break down hundreds and thousands of weak opponents.

Rekka Chika figured that if she was born with such fantastic and powerful abilities, that her parents could see only as abnormalities, then she would show the world just how spectacular it and she was. Chika ran even when both her feet ached, clawing and screaming, ripping down every barrier that towered in front of her until it wasn't more than crumbled dust.

'_That reminds me of that marble bastard. It's all his damned fault, everything! My fucking beautiful record in shambles….How DARE he. He'll pay...OH-HO will he pay!'_ Chika silently seethed, giant, blacked-out gaze turning to slits of loathing and fuck! Her body ached like she had a virus from overexerting herself in the fight and she hated that kitty-masked villain for it!

"That little bitch… I'll kick his ass," Chika murmured quietly over the faint rubbing of leather rutting against cotton. Squinting through the shitty lighting of the sparse dangling bulbs overhead, barely giving off a faint orange-hued glow over the shop worktop, where Chika perched forward over an overly tall stool to reach the metal workspace of the tabletop.

Pumping a small fist in the air, Chika shook it angrily to the sky. "How dare he try to make a fool of me! That bastard will suffer for pretending to be a hero and for messing around in my territory. The heroine Stinger is coming for you, so ya better watch your back!"

Unbeknown to the girl, a call went straight to voicemail on her forgotten cellphone laid buried under the costume on her bed.

...

During the next day, when the social hub that is Tokyo drew to a slower pace as night prevailed once again, Chika's luck seemed to change.

She's back on the job, suited up in her newly cleaned heroine costume, grey combat boots laced up, cropped deep purple jacket with a lavender outline pulled tight up over her mouth and chin and matching pants clinging to her thin legs - Chika treks the streets for criminals causing trouble. The night sky is breezy and cool, bringing a slight chill that hovers above the lazy ministrations of the public. People wore thicker coats compared to the thinner outfits they adorned earlier in the warmer day and luckily, her costume includes a jacket or she'd be a little mosquito popsicle by now.

Chika and cooler temperatures didn't mix well and that fact didn't pair well with her soured mood. The cold sucked and she wouldn't expose herself if she didn't have to. For the mosquito part of her loathed it, longing to bundle up near a warm fire like a little mini burrito but Chika herself had a job to do so she had to suck it up and deal.

Since it's a weekday, there aren't as many people out this late, instead choosing to turn in for an early night to prepare themselves for the next workday. All that's left are groups of young adults and college students mucking around, a good bit of middle-aged workers sharing drinks and heading inside toasty restaurants to shield from the biting night and to get away from the annoying youngsters.

The streets are mostly empty for Tokyo, which is normally packed back-to-back with people everywhere so much you can barely hear your own thoughts, although Chika _likes _the bustling crowds. There's something soothing about the packed streets, brimming over with selfish people focused on themselves, blatantly ignoring others in a rude fashion as they try to get to their own destination.

But it's usually nights like these that are easier to patrol since the population lessens substantially which means minimal damage control. However, that means not as many people get to see her cool abilities and watch her save the day which sucks and takes away some of her fun. And tonight, in particular, is one she would love to have admirers observing her coolness because she's out of it.

Chika is a distracted mess of tangled nerves and displeasure. She's pacing while murmuring curses under her breath like a crazy person and purposely yelling too much at stunned civilians that cross her path. The little vigilante all but rips anyone's head off that even so much as gets within five meters of her pace.

"This night is going to shit and it's all his fault," Chika grounds out with a rough fluffing of fingers through her short locks. She would never admit her struggling aloud but a disappointed pout is definitely hidden behind her collar. The black-eyed bug was hoping for a rematch and was sure the tall idiot would have shown up in her territory again, striking her as the type to ignore obvious orders and follow his own path. But of course, this is the one time the boy hasn't made an appearance and Chika is angry and tense.

It wasn't like she had been looking for him all night.._.No fucking way _would she waste her time doing that! But still, did it hurt anything for her to have a little fleeting strand of hope that maybe he'd play into her hand and appear? Though, it didn't seem like that would be the case, or so she thought as the vigilante stomped through the streets in the direction of her home, ready to spend the rest of her night with some fried chicken cutlets and headbang to an array of loud music.

That is until the target of her fixation shows up again and she doesn't even try to contain the wide smirk that curls over her rounded face.

'_YOSH!' _Chika inwardly cheers as her oval-shaped black eyes snapping right to the figure catching her attention in a passing alleyway. Gaze glued to the tall, muscular frame of the weirdo hiding in the darkness, hands buried in the large front pocket of his jacket and _yep that's him alright_, Chika's grin widens at the thought.

The alley's walls had various graffiti coating the walls by different artists, and it was mostly empty except for some trash and random boxes littering the area. A few dim lights that looked like they would break off or stop blinking at any moment peppered along in a stringed line overhead. But Chika didn't care about anything except for her spotted target, sticking out in the dingy hideaway like a sore thumb.

It's easy to pick him out with that idiotically cutesy kitty mask shielding his facial features from view. Although this time, Chika notes that he has on a different hoodie this time in a royal blue hue. This one paired with his black jogging pants and dark sneakers helps to hide him in the shadows a bit better than the red one from the previous night, and _oh?_ Chika raises a nonexistent eyebrow as her gaze trails again to his frame. '_Did he gain weight?'_ Looking closer, she sees him wearing two hoodies.

The small mosquito girl blanches in disbelief, mouth falling open underneath the covering of her leather jacket collar. Were her eyes deceiving her? She sure had to be going fucking blind because that's DUMB AS HELL.

Does the bastard think that's supposed to be an upgrade? What was he thinking? _Two hoodies? TWO HOODIES!? _ _Is he looking down on me? _Chika was getting angrier by the second, splitting out to herself in the shadows of the alleyway. She couldn't believe her eyes. How was someone as idiotic as this dumbass falsely claiming to be a hero? It was almost laughable how dumb that concept even was.

Everything about that guy pissed her off, and she wouldn't let him get away with mocking her in her own territory. How could he compete with Chika? There wasn't any way in hell he could! Especially not without a proper costume, but that didn't matter since he was probably lying to piss her off anyways.

Plain athletic wear wouldn't protect him and wearing another hoodie won't do shit. If he's planning on doing some hardcore crimes, then he'll get his ass handed to him eventually, not that she cared. Nope, Chika didn't give a fuck about what happened to him. '_Actually, I'll be the one to teach him that lesson.' _The tiny girl smirked, listening to the quiet thudding of her grey combat boots against the trash-covered ground as she made her way towards the villain leaning against a wall.

She couldn't turn a blind eye to someone with an ability like herself, even if it was way lamer than her cool-ass gifts. No matter how lame it was, she couldn't ignore it. Having an ability made him a target of interest. He was considered more dangerous than the average person because of the unpredictability. His gift from above could kill countless on her watch, and the havoc to the public would only result in a mockery of her good reputation in these parts of the city.

Villains were dumb, Chika decided. All criminals were stupid, and this boy was living proof. '_Hmm? The direction he's heading… It can't be..?'_ Chika carefully stalks her prey and stays close while occasionally hiding behind large boxes. '_This guy is so clueless. Alright, enough stalking this weirdo.'_ She starts beating her wings and dives in front of him. She was at the apex predator and she was going to prove to him that she was the best.

'_**I'm a winner,'**_

At the same moment, Chika's blacked-out eyes meet the eyes of the kitty mask, and she can feel the other teen staring directly back at her. If she didn't know any better, she would say the other was shocked to see her reemerge, not even just a day after their previous fight. A blooming feeling of thrill hammers in Chika's chest, making her grin so wide that her face felt close to splitting in two. '_And, yes finally, I've been waiting'_...The purple-haired girl hums low in her throat with pleasure, curling around her senses like a vice.

"YOU!"

The two of them ended up at a complete standstill in the alleyway. A mosquito-girl and a kitty-masked boy staring at each other with their index fingers pointing at the other.

On the other hand, Ieyasu wasn't nearly having the same reaction as Chika at seeing the other.

'_This little shit, again?!'_ Ieyasu inwardly groaned, fighting back the violent urge to spit at her feet and turn away. Seeing the little insect made his simmering dislike shift to bubbling hot anger. God, what did he do to deserve this? _Just why did she of all people have to show up!?_ It was as if she was stalking him now or something because Ieyasu was sure no normal person would've found him hiding in only one of the thousands of seedy alleyways in Tokyo. But of course, Ieyasu rolled his eyes behind his cheap mask, she would overcome all obstacles to find that one alleyway.

'_Welp. My night is definitely fucked.'_

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Ieyasu yells in a fit of seething irritation without letting his finger down from his accusatory pointing, feeling a bit more than a little ridiculous at the notion but not one to back down as she points a sharp finger back both fingers barely a foot away from grazing the other's chest. Just what the hell, man? Could he not catch a break with this little brat?

She had swooped down on his patrolling the nearby alley outside of the busier square. It was a good vantage point for scoping, and this way, he could also pay attention to the portable police radio playing over the earbud he had in one ear.

All had been pretty quiet for the night, but it was still early, so it would be naive to assume something wouldn't happen later. And now all of that was thrown out the window by the freak showing up to give him another headache.

What _was_ she doing here? How did she even find him? The brunette honestly wondered as he stared cautiously back at the smaller hero. She had definitely taken him by surprise, for he wasn't sure he would see the girl again for a while. Tokyo was a big city, after all, she could've been anywhere, and yet, here she is. In all of her bug-eyed glory, staring down at him with those hauntingly creepy eyes, peering out over the high popped collar of her lavender jacket that shielded the lower half of her face and made her eyes pop, even more, he thought.

"What the hell am I doing here…? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING BACK HERE IN MY TERRITORY!? Didn't you learn your lesson already, ya bastard?! Or am I going to have to beat it into you?" The tiny mosquito seethes, and Ieyasu all but rolls his eyes behind his mask, for once managing to keep his voice in check by resisting the annoyance that consumes the teen, replacing the need to retort.

Great, Ieyasu nearly sighed, they were back at this same bullshit from last night.

It was almost as if her ferocity was what was keeping her in the air as her strangely transparent wings beat a mile-a-minute from where they sprouted from a slit in the back of her jacket. A strange aura settles over the two, and it's nearly a tangible _something, _an intense weight hovering between the two of them. Ieyasu can almost see it in the air, the thick atmosphere that fills his chest and crushes his lungs.

She's a live-wire sparking dangerously close to a body of water, ready to light up at any moment, and Ieyasu can just almost smell a musty, earthy rain coming on.

It's tense, and he knows Stinger feels it too, can see it in the way her wings twitch despite their rapid flapping to keep her airborne. There's an electric energy that courses over the small girl, and Ieyasu easily recognizes it as the same energy he feels before a fight. And now, with Stinger's appearance, Ieyasu's hunger for a challenging rematch was building in his veins like a bubbling poison, coating the rational part of his brain.

The brunette could feel his attention slipping from his previous priorities to the new opportunity at hand. The earbud fell out of his ear canal, dropping to drape forgotten over his shoulder. '_Fuck...I need to worry about the police reports...But I guess since nothing is happening right now, it's okay to take my mind off of it for a bit.' _Ieyasu tried to reason with the small sliver of rationality, telling him to ditch the girl and handle more critical matters.

'_Yeah, like the criminals that are harming innocent people. Wait, what about those freaks, huh? Could the police really handle a bunch of psychos with abilities? I can't just leave it to the police who are way too over their heads when I'm more capable. Much more capable_...'

His stare couldn't leave the intensity of the other. It felt like she was mocking his very existence, and Ieyasu clenched his teeth together, mashing down and locking with a quiet clicking sound.

He was way more capable than her too. What was a little pesky bug to someone like him? Someone with unimaginable power… He was great - No, _the best_. Ieyasu was the best and could pluck the girl's small wings between two fingers and watch her breakaway, down into a twitching weeping mess. Watching the delicate, intricate weaving of the appendages tear apart into trash at his feet.

A broken little girl at Ieyasu's very hands. That's all she would be, and Ieyasu wouldn't be that sorry...

But Ieyasu didn't have time to choose his course of action, for it seemed the decision was made for him when Stinger moved, taking matters into her own hands in his place.

"Listen, Villain, I'm going to conquer you just like the rest of them. I'll fuck you up so hard you'll never intrude on my territory again. Come here, shitface!" Stinger exclaimed with her sailor-mouth, before zooming forward through the air like a lightning strike, just as ferocious.

If it had been anyone else saying those words, he would've written it off as a bluff, but the fact it was Stinger, he could tell the girl had a habit of speaking her mind, and she typically meant what she said. This wasn't some cheap jab at his ego, some lame threat on deaf ears. No, the girl meant it.

Ieyasu could see the truth, gleaming _bloodlust _in those oval-shaped eyes when the streetlights caught her like a flash. She practically trembled with emotion, a small frame shaking like a leaf in the wind, and if Ieyasu isn't mistaken, it's giddiness… _She's glad._ Happy even, that they're about to fight and like that...

It all happens too fast, too quick, _**too much too soon**_, and he knows it, feeling the shift between them of unsettled energy. Clenching in his gut, quick, sharp breathes that mingle with her own. They're both hungry and yearning…panting like fucking animals and bared teeth hidden behind either covering. Bright eyes gleaming like the moon amongst the restless shadows - matching excitement. Longing for a selfish challenge.

And that's exactly what they do - give way to their dark desires, curling like inky tendrils from inside their hearts, pulsating and growing until the vines burst through their ribcage.

The dance between them begins, two sides of the same coin pulled like magnets towards each other, and Ieyasu feels alive with the rushing of adrenaline-pumping his veins full until they threaten to burst at the seams just as Chika's fists ball up at her sides and she's lurching into action.

_Shit! _

Ieyasu hisses out a sharp breath as green eyes widen in surprise behind his mask. The movements of her fists are too fast and he knows it's in vain on his part to waste precious energy dodging. All he can do is stare dumbly while she flies at him and wait for the impact of the small black curled fists to collide with her mark.

A sickening crunching sound resounds around the alleyway from where they meet - snapping of bone etching and flooding Ieyasu's ears. The brunette stumbles back from the force of the punch that lands on the part of the mask that shields his nose. A gasp tore like a ripping bandaid from him as the tiny girl's punch stings his face, still sore from the night before, with an impressive amount of force.

"Fuck!" Ieyasu yells as his hand flies up to clutch his throbbing nose, protecting the sensitive side from Chika's relentless punches that keep coming without fail. Ieyasu flinches under her hand, taking the hits with a clear head.

A thick glob of dark red streaks down his face, coating the mask and stinging his nostrils. Blood covers his upper lip, flooding his senses, and Ieyasu is taken back to the numerous school fights he found himself in, especially his very last schoolyard brawl…

A choked sob barely gets caught in the back of his throat as the twang of blood drips down into his mouth, eyes suddenly blazing, and lungs shriveling with constriction.

_Shit_, it's slowly becoming harder to breathe as the teen sees red.

Red.

Crimson everywhere. Bitter, coppery, liquid anger. A stinging taste at the back of Ieyasu's tongue, staining his mouth.

The fight leaves his mind blank and buzzing with excitement, energy, vexation - boundless sensations and Ieyasu can't shake the rapid hammering of his chest and the shaky pants that flood his senses. Ieyasu's skull pounds and his heart thumbs out a nimble rhythm and '_yes..yes...I'm alive. Bring me your best.'_ The brunette grins like a madman, eyes flashing dangerously and he's so fucking _pumped. _

It's all he can do to focus on the girl in front of him - thoughts all but a mixture of nothing and everything at once. But one word is clear in the fogginess, echoing in the well of his wired brain. Honed in like a sonar beacon trained to one person only - _**Stinger. Stinger. Stinger.**_

Chika's following hits against Ieyasu are unforgiving, coming in quick swipes in various locations, wings fluttering frantically with a buzzing sound. Long, sharp, blade-like onyx fingers pierce through the thin material of his dual hoodies, barely stopping the girl from shredding the peachy skin underneath. Despite the drastic size difference between Ieyasu and Chika, the smaller is clearly using her speed to gain the upper hand, as well as her hardened appendages.

It's not that she's a necessarily tough or staunch opponent, not with such a frail body of delicate wiry muscles, but instead, it's really the force behind her rapid pace and the armor-like chitin that covers the entirety of her form that makes her fierce.

"Aren't cha gonna fight back yah little bitch? Thought you claimed to be a hero? What happened? You just gonna sit and take it? Just as I figured...Weak, you're so fucking _weak_. I'm disgusted even touching you, but it'll feel good to crumble weakness to dirt," Stinger darkly spat, raspy voice coming out so close to his ear. Her harsh tone was filled with poison, like acid corroding metal, that voice breaks apart his remaining rationality.

The small girl slams his larger body back against a metal building frame, drawing a thick heaving cough from the depths of Ieyasu's chest upon impact. More blood forced out to dribble down his chin line like drool.

_Weak. __**Disposable**_…

Ieyasu blinks, barely keeping his breathing even. He easily bends and breaks against the wall at the hand of Stinger. The cold steel digs unforgivingly into his shoulder blades and the small of his back, flesh barely resisting against the hard surface, and Ieyasu sees more red. The color blinds his sight, seeping into every crevice as pain washes over him like the tide, followed by an intense burst of nausea. _Oh damn_, Ieyasu's fuzzy vision floods with purple hair and giant bug-like black eyes, and it takes him a good second to push through his blurring haze to realize that the small girl is holding him down hard with a thin arm over his chest, while the other hand grasps a fistful of his hoodie like a lifeline.

With another blink, his vision slowly clears, and that's when he sees it - sharp proboscis of a nose piercing right into where his shoulder meets his neck. It's as if time slows down to a creeping drag as the stinging in his shoulder increases to a sharp, needle-like prickling, and he can't look away from the disgustingly horrifying scene of Stinger's nose sucking up his blood.

His blood.

_She's drinking __**his fucking blood**_. _Oh god,_ Ieyasu is frozen in place in mild horror at the sight before him and feels a rushing stir of nausea turn his stomach with a flop.

_So sick...That's so nasty. What the hell is wrong with her? _

Stinger resembles a straw trying to suck up a thick milkshake that keeps getting globs stuck in the tube. Slowly, ever so gradually, the rise of small bulbous knots - globs of his own blood - disappear into her head paired with a soft whooshing sound of air, and Ieyasu is disgusted.

_What the fuck_…_I might throw up..Oh goddamn..._

Ieyasu releases a panicky cough, hazel eyes widening almost to the size of Stinger's own blacked-out gaze, and finally, the fog clears from his head, and the teen gets a hold of his sanity. Pushing the nauseous feeling to the side, Ieyasu narrows his eyes in determination. He's gonna do this.

Using her slow feeding to his advantage, the boy wastes not a second longer shoving the girl backward. Large, glove covered palms yank her small body loose from his shoulder, ignoring the sting and sticky-squishing sounds of the slide of her nose out of his body, Ieyasu roughly slams her exposed back to the other side of the alley.

"Get the hell off of me, you sick fuck!"

A sharp gasping startled yelp rips from the girl when her body meets the wall, wings and all smashed against it in the reversal of positions. And Ieyasu doesn't hesitate to smear it in like rubbing oil.

A pesky little mosquito, the boy grates her wings against the rough brick - a sick fascination with the way the delicate appendages skid and slide, catching on cracks on the surface. Heavy panting fills the darkened alleyway, the only sound in the lingering night, every other noise sounding miles and miles away, and the brunette feels like he's in a misty dream-like state unable to control himself or reign back.

He feels himself lean in, not pausing in his ministrations, as the dip of Stinger's long protruding nose brushes against his bloodied mask. Her black eyes are squinting, narrowing in pain, most likely, he muses, but she doesn't look away from the painted cat-like features staring back at her almost menacingly under the shitty overhead lighting.

"I'm done messing around with you," Ieyasu hisses through clenched teeth, and this time, Chika cries out, her raspy baritone like music to his ears as he continues to drag her over the wall.

Stinger flinches and kicks, twisting dangerously in his gasp like a helpless child, flailing her grey combat boots and tiny black fists in a pointless effort to fight back - get away - free herself from her captor, but Ieyasu just smirks. Such a sad, useless attempt. It's futile to even try, he's much bigger and more reliable than her, and now that she's left to his mercy, he's not going to let up that easily.

In the back of his mind somewhere, behind all of the selfish rage that controls his actions, he knows it's wrong. He knows it's fucked up that he's actually excited to see her wings slowly tear apart by his own doing, but he hates Stinger and her existence. He hates losing and refuses to lose to anyone.

'_**I'm a winner.'**_

Always a winner. The best at everything, continually doing better and going farther.

Stinger was just another stepping stone in a long line of challenges.

"Oh? What happened to all of that bravado, Stinger? Where's your tough guy act, little bug? Now, who's sitting back like a weakling?" The teen laughs mercilessly, and another wave of delight hits him when she snarls like a rabid animal. In all of the struggling, the popped collar of her purple jacket slips down, revealing the entirety of her rounded, red face. Perfectly white teeth gnashing together, flashing as a warning. Those teeth promise death - promise to eat him alive, tearing and ripping flesh from bone.

Bits of her wings were starting to come off and Ieyasu let himself get lost in awe. That's when the mosquito-girl suddenly pulled his hoodie down and headbutted him. He only let go of the girl for a second, but Stinger flew out of his grasp, using the taller's stunned state to get a safe distance between them, landing a couple of feet behind Ieyasu.

Ieyasu turned around, ready to beat the little brat some more, but chose to wait for her to make a move.

"Is that all you've got? I guess this proves I've got you beat in height and strength too."

Ieyasu could tell her eyes were filled with seething anger and pure confidence as Stinger glared into his mask.

"Alright, enough fucking around! I'll show you why we're nothing alike."

She charged straight at him again, but Ieyasu noticed she was a bit slower. Not that much slower, but it was enough for Ieyasu to dodge and roll far away. She crashed hard into a building's wall headon, a loud thudding noise echoing around them as a quieter, '_umph_' fell from the girls lips and Ieyasu almost cruely laughed at Chika's misfortune.

Not wasting the opportunity. He quickly pulled out one of his marbles, shattering it completely, and shot it at Stinger. Turning around and noticing it too late, the shards cut and embedded themselves into her stomach, piercing right through the durable fabric of her purple jacket, which ironically didn't protect her from the onslaught.

"Argh! That. Fucking. Hurt."

Ieyasu could feel a massive smirk on his face while looking at Stinger, looking more pissed off than before. Small hands flew to her stomach, long hard fingers brushing over the marble shards. The pressure only increased the drips of blood pooling at the girl's feet, staining over the tops of her boots.

"That isn't the worst thing I can do. Let me show you what else I've got!"

The two began to charge at each other again, but this time Stinger was quicker and smashed her fist into Ieyasu's stomach and left him short of air. A gasping choke wrenched from his chest and Ieyasu was forced to bend over from the horrible ache causing a small smirk to curl over Chika's rounded face.

'_Good suffer you bitch_,' Stinger inwardly hissed and silently prayed the taller boy would crumble from the weight of her fists like he deserved. She then flung her hands forward, making grabbing motions towards his hoodie. Ieyasu's hazel-green eyes widened behind his mask, not missing the movement from the other but he wouldn't be able to do much to stop her. Although, he wouldn't just give in and let it happen.

'_You won't have the upper hand again, little shit.' _Out of breath, Ieyasu caused the ground they were fighting on to shatter, in turn, his plan successful in making Stinger lose balance. With his competitor shaken up, he didn't have time to pause to think up a plan. He had to act and fast.

The aching twitch of his abdominal muscles didn't stop the teen from reacting. Instead, he swallowed down the blinding white lights of pain and pushed himself.

'_Move, go_,' Ieyasu spaced himself more and began to fire more shards of the marble balls he kept in his pockets.

The shards continue to cut and graze Stinger as she dodged some and made her way closer. And fuck, was the other too fast for Ieyasu to take for granted. Stinger swerved and glided like a snake, weaving and dodging until Ieyasu found himself blinked down at her right in front of him. With another smirk, Chika successfully grabbed his hoodie this time and without warning, began to take off high into the air. Like a rocket, Chika soared straight up, twisting easily through the chilly air with her victim tight in her hold. To get a better grip, Stringer dug her sharp nails into his sides, slicing through both hoodies as more stinging caused Ieyasu to hiss.

"Dammit! What the fuck are you doing? Put me down right now, bug face!"

"Oh, I will, and it's going to fuck you up!"

In the midst of his panicked shifting, a thought slammed into him like a brick wall and his body suddenly went limp for a split second, completely stilling. Ice shot through Ieyasu as if he had been dunked in cold water and _oh no_. _Oh god no_. _This wasn't good_...Ieyasu knew what she was planning and he couldn't pretend like he wasn't the least be afraid of the results.

Body thrown into overdrive, struggling, flailing, and hitting back. He wasn't to sit like a sack of garbage doing nothing. While flying up, she tried to use her sharp nose, but Ieyasu was able to grab it and pulled it down. Then he raised his body and grabbed one of her wings. Ieyasu found himself on top of the flying girl, holding her down by the nose and wing. And boy was it _not _an easy task, not by any means.

Stinger began vibrating her other wing, trying to sit up on top of him again and digger her nails deeper into his sides. Blood was seeping out and floating up. The same with the flakes of her wings as the wind was blowing hard opposite of gravity.

They were a tangled mess of strength, anger, and determination. Both trying to gain the upper hand from the other. They continued to trade blow for blow. Ieyasu managed to draw another minuscule sphere from a torn pocket of his black joggers and quickly shattered the marble right in front of her face.

Although instead, the pieces embedded themselves in Stinger's arm as she quickly blocked it. She responded in a flash by smashing her knee right underneath his chin causing his head to fling upwards and a nauseating pain swarmed his skull, eyes going white for a second under the impact but Ieyasu blinked the pain away. As they continued to rumble in the air, they were getting closer to crashing to the ground.

'**I'LL WIN. I'M GONNA WIN THIS. I'M THE FUCKING BEST,' **

No one will ever know, but, for a moment, their thoughts were the same.

Chika wasn't going to lose here. She made up her mind before this fight even started. '_I won't allow it, I won't,' _she breathed and with a brisk tug freed her nose and quickly shoved it into the boy's peachy skin, slicing his wrist and Ieyasu cried out. When the masked boy's hand flung his hand to cover his wrist, it left him wide open and Chika grabbed him by the throat.

Just a gentle press of her three-pronged chitlin fingers had Ieyasu stilling like a wet noodle, going slack in her hands and Chika couldn't help the pleasure of pressing down, digging roughly around the other's neck into soft flesh. All it took was just the faint pressure of her grabbing to have him molded putty in her fingertips.

_I could break it and he'd be helpless. I could just dig my fingers into him and feel the crunch of his throat cracking away... _

Her cold eyes met his mask's gaze, hiding the startled expression underneath, and she could feel it, could feel the tingling dread spreading like little pin-pricks all over his skin. She didn't have to see his face to feel the suffocating aura wafting across his still form and she liked it. Better yet, the girl _flourished and blossomed _under the power she had over him. Thrill ran through her like lightning, spreading through every crevice and causing her form to gently shake in the air.

_Good, be afraid of me._ Chika hummed and before he knew it, she threw him down. Ieyasu's neck slipped from her long onyx fingers and _down..down..down_...the boy helplessly fell like a rock sinking to the bottom of a lake.

She didn't bother watching the other flail as her own predicament hit her and '_oh fuck, I'm screwed. I'm gonna crash,_' Chika's mind needlessly supplied.

Chika furiously beat her wings in hopes to slow her landing, but '_damn it, it's not enough. I can't hold on much longer. Too heavy..._' gritting her teeth, she shoved her fists inside her smooth purple jacket. The exhaustion was showing, written all over her struggling form like a tattoo, creeping up the back of her spine and spreading. Every second felt like hours on her transparent wings fluttering frantically.

Despite her last-ditch efforts to recharge some of the lost strength, the boy's blood hadn't been enough to keep her energized enough to stay airborne and before Chika even knew it the small girl was falling right after the older, both on their way back to earth.

Chika slid her black eyes shut, just taking in the feeling of cold bursts of the air, kissing her skin and caressing her form in a freezing bath of freefalling.

It was almost mind-numbingly soothing. Just herself and the sky interlocked in a passionate embrace, the chilled wind blowing her short pixie cut, ruffling through the magenta and purple stands and pricking her rounded red cheeks in bursts of ice. The usual freedom that came with flying now felt like a shackle, chaining her to the cruel fate of gravity.

And despite how fiercely she fought against it, gravity _always_ won.

She heard a massive boom as dust blew everywhere, and then felt the impact of their bodies slammed down, next to each other, making direct contact with the dirty street. Trash scattered in the wind and neither teen registered the poor terrified orange stray cat that ran at full speed from behind the dumpsters from the commotion.

The city was painted in dark rivers of stringy entrails and crippled bones puncturing through skin and clothing. Countless drops of blood pooled around the crippled bodies crumbled in the sea of darkness. But, Chika couldn't give a fuck. Her elated head was filled with victory. She glanced over to see the mask boy's shallow breathing. The ugly cheap mask was still somehow plastered to his face but cracked and bloodied, still doing its job of hiding away his identity. Squinting, she could just barely make out the slow rising and falling of his chest from beneath his ripped up jacket.

He was alive but unconscious, that much was obviou_s. 'Take that! I told you I'm the fucking best!'_ Chika's glee didn't last long as reality slapped her roughly in the face with clouded black spots in her vision as she began to lose her own consciousness.

'_Oh, damn...'_ Stinger mused, not bothering to stifle the pained groan leaving her thin lips from the tight uncomfortable heat coiling like a snake through her ribs.

Now that the adrenaline no longer pushed through her veins the full effects of the fight were hitting her like a fucking truck on a highway - full speed ahead and no breaks. Chika's entire body _ached_, the kind of sensation that made the back of your eyes sting and wore down your body, chipping the last bits of energy away and completely draining the girl.

Shit.. It really did _hurt. Everything hurt. _

The intensity made her head spin, dizziness smacking her with a wave of nausea that threatened to spill nasty bile up the back of her sore throat. But all Chika could do was lay there, helplessly staring up at the clear night sky, tracing the soft glow from the distant civilian hubs in bustling sections of the Tokyo night scene.

"Is that you, Stinger? What the hell happened to you?"

Chika could feel someone's hands on her back and stomach. She looked to her side but could barely keep her eyes open, not with the black spots getting bigger and bigger, threatening to swallow her up.

"_Ugggghhh_," she groaned, helplessly trying to shift away from the annoying intruder hand's with her last strands of sanity, managing a less-menacing than she wanted growl of, "F-Fuck off," But the sixteen-year-old didn't have the energy to say anything else to continue the fight. If she was lucky, she'd be awake for just a few more seconds at most.

"You didn't say no, so I'm going to help you out. Ok?"

'_Ah, fuck you, I don't need you,'_ Couldn't they tell she was perfectly more than capable of managing her own problems? Sure she might've been bleeding out on the pavement but still… She was Stinger, the mighty heroine! She could fend for herself! She doesn't need to be babied!

Chika wanted to scream that in the helper's face, she wanted to grab ahold of their shoulders and shake them until they opened their fucking eyes and truly acknowledged who she was.

'_I'm Rekka Chika! Stop looking down on me! I'm a fearless and badass girl!'_

Chika took in a feeble lung-burning breath, furrowing her non-existent brows to form small wrinkles under the splatter of blood smeared on her forehead.

Another painful sharpness spiked through her chest and Chika let out a measly gasp, helplessly trying to move her arms. But even her limbs felt as if they were glued to concrete and the girl winced.

The voice of her helper suddenly sounded far away, like watery raindrops dripping carefully, one after the other until it shifted to a down flood. They were drowned out under her internal raging storm, anything else besides the mosquito-girl's own thoughts and state of her body went right over Chika's comprehension.

_No. _Chika's entire form froze, chilling over with icy shock and something unpleasant and strange welded up at the back of her eyes that reminded her of the harsh misty rain and - _No dammit! Stop messing around and lift your fucking arms! Come on, it's simple. Lift, check to see if you're dying. Why does it feel like there's a stake in my chest? _

Small arms shook with effort only to barely raise an inch off the ground before a searing heat engulfed her limbs. Chika gave a small cry of pain and fear and then her vision turned black, her struggling body going completely limp.

…

"...This is the person you found at the scene with Stinger?"

The sounds of someone talking cut through Ieyasu's foggy state, although he was too out of it to pay attention enough to distinguish who the voice belonged to. For whatever reason, his eyes felt glued shut, and no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't manage to open them.

Also, he realized after a pause, he couldn't manage to really move _anything_. _Umm...That's mildly concerning_...

The brunette felt strange and floaty like he was in a place between dreams and reality, caught in the crosshairs and not quite clinging to either.

_Wha…? What's going on...Where am I?_

Another voice reached his consciousness, and Ieyasu was utterly unable to tell just who this person was either. Definitely not under the darkness clouding his mind and gaze.

"Yeah, that's him. I don't recognize the mask or outfit, but that could be because he's in such bad shape. It's hard to really recognize anything right now, but the scene was bad. Like _really_ bad." There was a long pause, and suddenly an intense sharp something flooded through his body, piercing right through the dream-scape and causing a moan of pain to explode from his chest.

Searing pain tingled his entire form, and Ieyasu couldn't do a single thing but inwardly panic, clinging to the hope of staying awake and opening his eyes, but he couldn't do it. It was too much, way too much _**feeling**_ at once, crippling him under the sheer intensity.

_FUCK. I'm dying...I'm going to die. This is it._

"Etsu, Etsuji! Let's carry him to the back. He's in critical condition! HURRY! He might not make it. SOMEONE GET..."

The voices came to a still as Ieyasu succumbed to the burning pain.

…

**Beep…. Beep… Beep… Beeeeep. BEEP. BEEP.**

Ieyasu mentally sighed as mechanical whirling filled his senses, along with a strangely far-off beeping sound that reminded him of some kind of robotic machine and yet again, panic shot through his core.

_What's going on?_

He felt heavy like a giant boulder was crushing his weight down, holding all limbs in place, and Ieyasu for once was actually afraid. The brunette tried to wiggle his fingers, but something was restraining his movements. When his efforts didn't seem to be working, he decided to open his eyes, and again, he was faced with the darkness of his lids clamped shut.

"Etsuji, pass me the scalpel. Etsu, I need more thread, and please hold this."

A sterile smell wafted through his nose, just barely able to make it out because, _that's weird_, he froze, his nose felt clogged up like he could barely get a breath through his nostrils. But yet, there was a constant force of blowing air hitting the peach skin of his chin and nose, going straight in through his opened mouth and keeping his lungs functioning.

_What the hell is that?_

"Oh fuck no - _Shit_, Etsu, he's coming to way too early! Vitals are spiking dangerously high. Hit him with a higher dosage. He'll die for sure if the patient wakes up right now!"

_Wait, what!? I'll actually die?_ Ieyasu mentally screamed, realizing that yes, he seemed to be alive but struggling, to say the least. But what was happening? Was he in a hospital? Going under surgery? Better yet, who the hell is his doctor?

The fogginess started to pile into his senses tenfold, like a smokey cloud being pumped into his system, and slowly, the teen lost consciousness again.

...

**Mochi's Corner:**

**Rekka Chika - Mosquito - N/A voice actor - created by: JackHammerMan**

**Ieyasu Hajime - Shatter - VA: Hiroshi Kamiya - created by: justreadtoread**

_Annnnnnd that's chapter two! Seasel and went CRAZY over writing this and I ended up word-vomiting all over this and making him have to clean up a really terrible mess so...I'm very sorry Seasel. I am the worst but my other half makes up for where I lack and I'm happy to have them with me. :) I hope we're getting better at this lol._

_Next update will be coming soon! Did Chika and Ieyasu make it through ? Who rescued them? Or was it even a rescue? AND WHERE ARE THE OTHER OCS!? Well, actually we're introducing characters pretty slowly to give a big focus to everyone, so expect more OCs to show up in the next chapter._

_Anyone who is still reading this, you mean so much to us so thank you for supporting our little dream fic here. Reviews are welcome! Actually, reviews are our motivation and we're so grateful for all of them. Follows and favs are the best, so make sure to add this fic to your list please if you have an OC!_

_Hero and Villain OCs are still being accepted so submit to me through PM. If you have questions make sure to let me know so I can help._

_Thank yoooooou all for checking this out! Stay healthy and please wash your hands! Avoid going out if possible, I don't want any of you getting sick._

_Stay healthy~_


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